Hoenn
by midwestern-duchess
Summary: Allison Harper's dreams of a Pokémon adventure have long been dashed by her overbearing and overprotective parents. But when she rescues a worker in the woods, she's swept into a series of events along with her best friend, her know-it-all neighbor and her rival. And don't forget: The Legends are walking.
1. Chapter 1

"Exploring?"

I arch an incredulous eyebrow. "You can't _explore_ a town that you've lived in for fifteen years, Zac. Especially when it's got a population of like, twelve."

Zac Birch smirks at my pluck. We both know Littleroot houses more than twelve people, but I've been itching to get out of my hometown the second I could walk. He'd had my attention the moment he said "out." It's a nice day in Hoenn this afternoon, but clouds wait ominously in the wings, awaiting their time in center stage. I'm leaning on the fence in the front yard, swinging on the gate, making its hinges squeak.

"We're not exploring _Littleroot_, genius. We're going to Rustboro." He replies.

I purse my lips, curiosity piqued. "Why? What's in Rustboro?"

Zac flashes his signature grin. "Fossils," he says, his eyes bright. "The Ruin Maniac out in Fallarbor found something really strange, so he brought it in. Devon Corp. has it right now, and they _say_ it's roped off to the public but you know..." He smiles that smile again, flashing his I.D. badge at me. "I've got connections."

I grin. It's known all throughout the Hoenn region—Zac Birch is the son of the famed Professor Birch. Obviously, we've used this as a way to cut corners and side-step rules over the years, and so this rare fossil business is no different. And while I'm not exactly a _fan_ of fossils, any excuse to get out of my sleepy hometown is fine by me. Even if is to just go look at a dumb old rock.

"So," I say as we start out of Littleroot Town. "What does the ole Professor have to say about this particular shindig?"

Zac shrugs. "Say please and thank you and look twice before you cross the street." He shrugs, laughing. "You know he doesn't care."

I grind my teeth. "Jealous to the max, Zac Attack," I say, shaking my head. "It's still a shelter-fest at my place. I swear I'd never see the light of day if your dad hadn't convinced Norman that I can actually walk six feet without needing a first-aid kit or a freaking _Chansey_."

Zac nods. Its common knowledge that the Leader Norman Harper of Petalburg is fiercely protective of his daughter, yours truly. Protective to the point of annoying and somewhat creepy. This level of protection doesn't set well with me, seeing as how I'm born to travel. I know it, my friends know it and my parents are simply in denial about it, insisting that I can do all the traveling I want in the less-than-a-football-field sized grassy field that is my hometown.

Zac bites his lip, throwing a glance over at me. I know what's coming. Zac's going to go on one of his "defend Norman" crusades.

"You know why they do it, Allie," he murmurs. "It's not because of you."

I turn on him, my eyes going cold. He knows better than to bring stuff like that up. I open my mouth to chew him out for being an inconsiderate ass, but Zac cuts me off, hands up in mock surrender.

"Easy! I'm sorry, okay? But it's just not right for you to blame it all on Norman, you know? After…well, you know. He just doesn't know what to do." Zac shrugs, "He's scared, Al."

I face him, my green eyes blazing into his brown ones for what seems like forever. Eventually, I hold up two fingers.

"One, Norman doesn't get scared. Two, give me a warning next time you decide to go all Mr. Psychology on me, okay? You know I hate it." I resume my walk, "Now let's go make some Devon workers nervous." Zac scrambles after me as we enter into Petalburg City.

-0-

"Allison! What are you doing here?"

Norman fixes me with a stern look that I am, quite unsurprisingly, very used to. "You know you're not supposed to wander."

I roll my eyes as Zac and I walk over to where Norman is talking with one of the trainers who works in his Gym. I briefly consider saying, _gee Norman, me and Zac are just on our way to light the city on fire and plunder the whole place! Wanna help?_ But I think better of it.

"I'm not wandering, Nor—_Dad_." I grumble, crossing my arms. "Me and Zac were just going to see if we could get a look at that fossil they brought in from Fallarbor."

Norman looks us over suspiciously. Also unsurprising. "I heard it was barred from the general public." He says, narrowing his eyes.

Zac holds up his I.D. badge. "Good thing the Birch's aren't the general public." He replies.

Norman relaxes, seemingly at ease now that he knows we aren't planning on breaking into Devon Corp. Which, of course, is only the most prestigious laboratory/manufacturing comapany/anything-you-could-possibly-think-of-is-probably-somewhere-in-this-building place. Because we're totally considering it.

"Well, anyway, we better get on our way. Bye Mr. Harper." Zac says, taking my arm and towing me out of Norman's Swellow-like gaze.

Once we're well into Petalburg Woods and out of earshot, I explode. "Wandering. _Wandering!_ Can you believe it? I'm almost sixteen and he's telling me not to _wander._"

Zac shrugs as pulled out a Pokéball from his belt. "Well, look on the bright side. At least he let you go." Zac tosses the Pokéball out in front of us and in a flash of light; his Castform appears with its cheerful cry of hello.

"Zac, my dad is completely off his rocker! There _is_ no bright side!" I groan as the gray Weather Pokémon floats up beside his master. "Blobby understands, don't you Blobby?" I hold out a hand, and the small Pokémon quickly soars over, settling happily in my arms.

Zac scowls, "Don't call him that. That is a very sophisticated, extremely rare, highly intelligent Pokémon that controls the weather. He's not going to be called _Blobby_." I tickle the Pokémon under his chin, and it gives a cry of delight. "He _likes_ it. Blobby doesn't want to live a life stuck inside like a lab Ratattata. No sir!"

Zac rolls his eyes and gives a small whistle, which the Pokémon instantly heeds. "Blobby, if you insist upon calling him that, was _born_ in a lab," he explains as the gray Pokémon reclaims its spot by his master's shoulder. "So I'd say he's pretty okay with that."

I shrug and called out my own Pokémon, an Eevee. "How's my little Cheri?" I ask, scooping up the tiny, fox-like Pokémon.

"Cheri?" Zac asks, "I thought its name was Razz."

I shrug, "I haven't decided yet. I like Nanab too, but it's kind of a mouthful."

Zac shakes his head. "You're ridiculous, you know the only thing that can come from giving Pokémon nicknames is-!" He breaks off in surprise as I slap a hand over his mouth. Zac mumbles a protest against my palm, but I shush him, my eyes on my Eevee, whose ears are twitching. We stand like that, completely still, until I hear it: a very meek, very distant, very pathetic cry for help. We freeze.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper.

Zac nods and pries my hand off his mouth. "It came from just around the corner," he says softly, pointing.

Never one for highly sophisticated plans, like I know Zac was going to come up with, I take off. "Come on, let's go Oran!" I call.

Zac groans and jogs after me.

The source of the cry, or so I assume, is a man wearing a stark green suit with slicked brown hair. These two things instantly categorize him as a Devon worker. And therefore, not a trainer. Which might explain the dude in a blue bandana who's standing over him, Pokéball in hand.

The Devon worker cowers in the grass before Blue Bandana Boy. "Please...please don't hurt me!" He whimpers.

Blue Bandana Boy scowls down at him. "Then you better fork over those goods, you worthless piece of junk!"

I glare. Bullying is bad enough. But throw in a horribly clichéd scene and you've got one of my biggest pet peeves. I step out from behind the tree I'd been hiding behind, Eevee on my heels. "Hey, is something wrong?" I ask, internally wincing.

On reflection, that might not have been the best way to introduce myself. A Devon worker is on the ground, begging for mercy from some punk in a bandana who is asking him to "fork over" some goods. _Of course_ something is wrong.

But I try to stand firm, as Triple B, Blue Bandana Boy, looks me over. "Keep moving, kid," he growls. His voice is unnaturally low and gravely, which I guess is supposed to make him sound, like, tough, but ended up making him sound like he had a Lotad in his throat.

"Gonna have to go with no on that one," I say, trying to sound cool, suave and aloof, which are basically all things I'm not.

The Devon worker looks at me like I was his saving grace. Triple B just glares.

"Yeah? Well how's about I give you a little persuasion." And with that clearly-taken-from-a-bad-action-film line, he throws his Pokéball on the ground in front of me. The light vanishes, leaving us with a Poochyena who stands as tall as his short, stubby legs allow him. I glance down at my Eevee, who suddenly seems much, much smaller.

Well, this changes things a bit.

I know my Eevee weighes about ten pounds, give or take. Poocheynas can weigh anywhere from thirty to thirty-five pounds. Translation? I'm outweighed, outmatched and clearly, out of luck. Obviously, Triple B knows he has the upper hand, so he smiles wickedly.

That's when I hear Zac walk up beside me. I look at him with the face that the Devon worker had given me earlier, like "thank God you're here I was totally about to wet my pants." But while his arrival boosts my confidence, it doesn't really change my situation.

See, trainers have to follow a string of rules when it comes to battles. The upside: one of the rules is there is always money handed out to the victor. The sucky side: if two trainers have mutually agreed on battling, no one can interfere or back out. It's strictly _lazie fare_;hands off.

Zac's hands are tied. He knows it, I know it, and our buddy Blue Bandana Boy knows it. And, technically, since I sent my Eevee out in front of me in response to his Poochyena, I'd agreed to his shenanigans. "Poocheynas are Dark type." Zac tells me, slipping into his know-it-all self that happens when he's in or near a battle. "He hasn't got a type advantage over you,"

I shoot him an agitated look. "Thanks, Professor Zac." I tell him tartly. "But who was the one who aced that Type Matchup test in school? That would be _moi_. I've got this." I waste no time kicking into battle mode. I'm tied for first as "Top Trainer" at my school (more on that story later). True, it's been a while since I've had a real, legit battle, but I can still beat 'em.

"Eevee, quick attack!" I call, just to get the ball rolling. Eevee might not be heavier or stronger, but she's definitely faster. My small brown Pokémon becomes a blur as she races forward, closing the distance between her and the Poochyena in a split second, and crashing into it. Eevee bounces back, but the Poochyena slams into the packed dirt of Petalburg Woods. Eevee prances back, taking her place before me as the Poochyena gets to its feet.

"Poochyena, tackle!" The dark, fanged Pokémon lunges forward, but compared to my Eevee, that thing was so slow it could have been going backwards.

"Dodge it, Eve!" I order, as my Pokémon dances to the side, evading the attack. The Poochyena stumbles and falls, rather ungracefully, face-first into the ground. I smile, pleased that the battle's going my way. This Blue Bandana Boy is nothing but a pushover. Then he really starts acting funky.

He calls back his Poochyena, stuffing the Pokéball back in his belt.

"Hey!" I shout. "You can't just chicken out like that!" The guy has as much guts as a Magikarp!

He scowls. "Look, kid. Team Aqua doesn't chicken out, you hear? You'll get yours, just wait." And he turns tail into Petalburg Woods. I grit my teeth, itching to follow him.

"Don't do it," Zac says, reading my thoughts like only he can. "He's not worth it. Besides, he didn't get the goods, there's no point in chasing him down."

Sighing, I retreat back to where the Devon worker's standing. "Thank you so much!" He gushes. "I am eternally grateful!"

"Dude, it was just a Poochyena," I say, making a face. Zac elbows me sharply in the ribs. Point one for Queen Tactful.

The Devon worker seems oblivious to any insult, as he presses on earnestly. "These goods are priceless, if Team Aqua had gotten a hold of these…" He shakes his head. Clearly, the thought of losing the package of…whatever is too terrible to say.

It just looks like a bundle of random gears and springs, but hey, who am I to judge? I do, however, have a thing or two to say about their security. "If it's so priceless, why do they just let unarmed workers wander around Petalburg Woods?" I ask, earning another elbow for my lack of tact.

The Devon worker bites his lip. "I technically wasn't supposed to be out here." He mumbles, embarrassed. "I was looking for a Shroomish, I really love that Pokémon."

Zac speaks up, probably to keep me from making some snide comment about loving a wimpy spore Pokémon. "Shroomish are more common at the edge of Rustboro City." He explains. "They've come to love the berries people plant there."

The Devon worker's face has a look of wonder to it. "You're Professor Birch's son!" He gasps.

Zac nods. "Yep, that's me. And this is Allison Harper, Norman's, the Leader of Petalburg, daughter."

The Devon worker nods eagerly. "Yes! Wow…" He seems momentarily spellbound. Welcome to my life as a minor celebrity.

"Yeah, great. Glad we're all buddies now. Look, we're on our way out of the woods too, heading to Rustboro, Devon Co., in fact. Why don't you just hang with us so you don't get the snot knocked out of you again, 'kay?" The Devon Dude agrees excitedly, like walking with the only somewhat-famous kids of Littleroot is the coolest thing ever.

So we made his day. Huzzah for that.

-0-

As if you didn't catch this already, that Devon guy is a _chatterbox_.

Seriously, people tell me that _I'm _a loudmouth. This dude just can't stop jacking his jaw. He chats happily all the way out of the woods, completely content in our one-sided conversation. Every so often, I threw in a "yeah," or Zac would say "really? I never knew!" Which just encourages him to talk even more. Anyway, by the time we reach the edge of the woods, Zac and I are practically on our knees _begging_ for Blue Bandana Boy to come back just for something to shut him up.

In any case, we make it to Rustboro without a hiccup. The Devon Dude excuses himself to go talk to some head honcho at the company and so we're left waiting outside the humongous building. That's when I find myself under attack by a five-foot five blonde.

She tackles me with a hug, throwing herself completely into me. "_Allie!_" She cries.

"Can't…breathe." I gag, struggling to support both of our weight. She releases me from her hug/death grip, grinning broadly.

"It's been forever!" She says, grinning. "How have you been?"

I stand, cracking my back. "It's been exactly three days," I tell her with a weak smile as my back makes an alarming popping noise. "I'm sorry to say nothing life-changing or earth-shattering has happened."

Lucy Reed simply smiles, her blue eyes shining. "It is good to see you, though." She says seriously.

I smirk, hugging her back. "Yeah, guess it's not so bad to see you either." I reply with a grin.

Lucy's been my best friend since I can remember. There is no memory I have that does not somehow involve her. We've gotten into so much trouble, had so many misadventures and basically had the best time of our lives ever since we'd known each other.

She's originally from the Sinnoh region, born in a place called Hearthome City. But when Lucy was just a baby, their house was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, so the family decided to try for a new start in Hoenn, which is where she met me, Zac and…

I frown, glancing around, looking for the fourth member of our little band of adventurers. "Hey…where's Brewer?" I ask.

Lucy rolls her crystalline blue eyes. "He got tired of waiting on you two so he decided to go look at the fossil himself. Security should be throwing him out any second now." She pauses, giving us a look. "What _did_ take you so long anyway?" So we explain to her about the Devon Co. guy, and Triple B.

Lucy raises her eyebrows. "Wow, Team Aqua? I hear they're serious business."

I shrug. "Not the guy I battled. He was a pushover. Eve and I took him on, right Eve?" My Pokémon gives a small bark of delight in its native tongue from its position in my arms. Lucy opens her mouth to say something, when the doors of Devon Corporation are thrown open.

Two beefy Devon Co. workers hurl out a lanky teenage boy with a mop of brown hair, and he tumbles onto the sidewalk with his Growlithe. Lucy closes her eyes, I wince and Zac lets out a low whistle.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Zac notes. I nod, jogging over to the boy.

"Having fun?" I ask, leaning over him, hands on my hips as Eevee sits at my feet, her large chestnut eyes curious.

The boy scowls up at me through his messy brown hair. "Wanna tell me what took you so long?" He snaps, as his Growlithe, Ace, licks at a small gash on his elbow.

"In a sec bro, let's get you checked out." Zac offers a hand and pulls the boy to his feet.

Lucy's eyes are still wide, hands at her mouth. "Geez, that looked like it hurt," She says anxiously, concern lighting her blue eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He shrugs, rolling his shoulder. "Yeah, 'course I'm all right." He replies gruffly.

I snort at his cockiness and over-confidence. He glares at me and socks me in the shoulder.

"What're you laughing at?" He snaps.

"You," I reply, unruffled by his violence and general lack of respect for the don't-hit-girls rule. "Thinking you can sneak into Devon Co. It makes me laugh."

His scowl grows more defined. Sure, I'm not exactly being a saint, but since when is pointing out the obvious truth a sin? Brewer, however, true to his nature, takes this as a direct attack on everything he stands for. Like, his own stupidity, for example.

A fire lights in his blue-black eyes as he glares at me. "Yeah? Well at least my dad doesn't feel the need to keep a freaking GPS on me."

My hands snap into fists and my eyes narrow. That _jackass!_ The whole "sheltered child" thing is a low blow and he knows it.

"Okay Brewer, as long as we're taking cheap shots, let me ask you. How's Abby these days?" I shoot back, my eyes blazing.

He grits his teeth in response to his, as of last week, ex-girlfriend's name. He takes a step toward me, looking like he's getting ready to smack me again. Eevee barks, her ears pinned back while a deep rumble comes from Ace, his amber eyes meeting Eevee's.

"Easy, you two." Zac warns, stepping between us. "Just chill out, okay? No need to pick up where you left off." _Where we left off_. Fighting, like always. I don't think we ever _leave off_ any other way. It's just how we are. It's how we've always been, even since the first day of school when we were like, six. Ryan Brewer was the new kid from the Kanto region, something he was not happy about.

He missed the awesome Fighting-type Pokémon of his old home in Saffaron City, and the incredible, powerful Leader of that region, Lance, whom he'd been mentored by. He was cocky then, too, and that cockiness, when pitted against my hard-headedness was the perfect recipe for a recess brawl. So it was me, the famed daughter of Norman, against him, the new kid from Kanto.

The stakes were as high as they could be for second grade recess as my Eevee and his Growlithe traded blows back and forth, neither seeming able to get an edge over the other. Finally, just as our brow-beaten and exhausted Pokémon were going in for another attack, they both fainted on the spot at like, the exact same time.

So that's what sparked our epic rivalry, which, as you can probably tell, is still alive and well today, as Zac pulls Brewer away and Lucy haules me over to the nearby Pokécenter.

"Chill," she orders, as I lean against the side of the Pokécenter, my face still twisted into a snarl. "He's not worth it and you know it. He's just the same stupid Brewer who is your best freaking friend. You both just need to get over yourselves."

I open my mouth to tell her off, but nothing comes. Because, like always, Lucy has trumped me with the unyielding power of simple logic. Damn.

Something blue catches my eye and I glance up to see our old buddy Blue Bandana Boy booking it out of Devon Co. "Hey!" I shout. I race over to where Zac and Brewer are standing, Lucy and Eevee on my heels. "Zac _look!_" I shout, pointing.

His tawny eyes grow wide behind his glasses as he watches Triple B disappear behind a corner, straight into Route 116. "Wait, please!" Devon Dude stumbles out of the building, wailing. "Those goods are priceless!"

Brewer and I lock eyes, dark blue meeting sharp green as mutual agreement flows between us and we take off, our Pokémon right behind us.

* * *

**So many thanks for reading, dear reader. Here's the scoop:**

**I've actually already published this story! It was a while ago, though, and not only was the dialouge the worst thing this side of Hong Kong, the character's were flatter than piece of paper. It's now deleted so don't bother searching for it.**

**So this is the ****_revamped_**** and ****_reloaded _****version, if you will. Which, depending on the feedback I get, I may just finish.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Duhcess**


	2. Chapter 2

For all our faults, i.e. constant bickering, fighting and general disagreement, Brewer and I work well together.

We're both good battlers and compensate for each other's weaknesses. Like, Brewer knows to have his Growlithe take hard blows for my Eevee because she's got such a low defensive stat, and I make sure Eve covers Ace's flank, because he's so much slower than her. It seems pretty sweet, and people might smile at how much we care for each other, seeing as how we take the time to figure out each other's strengths and weak spots. The truth? The only reason we know this is because we've spent the last like, ten years trying to knock the snot out of each other.

In any case, we ran after the Team Aqua member, dodging and weaving through Route 116's various trees, shrubs and ridges. Some trainers turn around when they hear us coming, and when they see who it is, they keep right on turning. The citizens of Littleroot, Petalburg and Rustboro have found it's wise not to get between Allison Harper and Ryan Brewer.

"That's your guy, isn't it?" Brewer asks me shortly, his eyes fixed on our bandana-clad thief.

I nod, figuring Zac must have explained our little skirmish in Petalburg Woods. "Yeah," I reply, "We'll be able to corner him up here. He's heading towards Rusturf Tunnel, he'll hit a dead-end."

Rusturf Tunnel's been a man-made roadblock since forever. Or at least as far as Norman can remember, which is as good as forever. It was originally created to link Rustboro and Verdanturf town together, hence the name "Rusturf." Unfortunately, because of disruption from the local population of Whismur, construction was canceled, leaving the locals with a crappy, half-assed tunnel that had a huge boulder blocking the two sides from meeting and essentially defeating the purpose of the whole thing.

In any case, we aren't too worried when Triple B vanishes inside, knowing he'll have to come out eventually, and so there's really no point in following him into the musty tunnel. So instead, Brewer and I kind of meander our way toward the mouth of the tunnel, looking for Blue Bandana Boy. Instead, we find a dude in construction clothes sprawled out, looking like he'd just gotten the business end of a Machop-worthy punch.

I rush forward, dropping down beside him. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" He groans and I hastily dig a bandana of my own out of my pack, using it to wipe dirt and blood out of his face. That's when I recognized him as Sam Wilson, the "crazy" man of Rustboro. According to town gossip, his girlfriend lives in Verdanturf Town and so he spends all day every day chipping away at the huge-ass boulder blocking the tunnel so he can get to her…by hand.

That's right, not only is he all alone in this little crusade to untie the two towns, he's got to do it by hand so he won't disrupt the Whismur who are finicky little creatures that spook easily and calm down not so easily. How's that for dedication? I think it's kind of sweet, but as far as Brewer's concerned, they guy's a certified idiot.

"Blue bandana…" Sam groans, drawing me back to my current situation. "He…fights nasty. No mercy…sends his Poochyena on…trainers…" Brewer and I exchange looks of surprise. \

We've figured that Triple B possesses a screw-the-rules-I'm-wearing-a-bandana mind set, but using your Pokémon to intentionally harm another trainer? That's a huge no-no. I'm talking Elite Four knocking at your door kind of no-no.

I mean, an accident is one thing. Ace had torched my bag by mistake once when Eevee had lowered his accuracy with sand-attack a few too many times. But it's not like Brewer had actually wanted to destroy my stuff. We might be rivals, but that doesn't mean we flat-out hate each other, not that much anyway.

Before I can talk this out with Brewer, my attention is ripped from Sam and onto some old guy who rushes out of the tunnel, throwing his hands onto Brewer's shoulders. "My Peeko!" He wails, as Brewer faces him, shock on his face. "They took my darling Peeko, oh you must get her back for me!" He continues to sob as Brewer awkwardly pats his back, clearly unsure what to do. One thing we have in common: we have absolutely no idea what to do with tears. I face the tunnel and jog inside.

After seeing the distraught conditions of Sam and the old guy, I keep my guard up as I creep through the musty caverns of Rusturf Tunnel, sticking close to the walls. Whismurs stare at me, twitching their noses and pawing at their ears, clearly unsure what to make of me.

"Hey, Aqua freak!" I call, my voice echoing inside the spacious tunnel. "Didn't you learn the first time? Stealing doesn't work around me. Now man up and come out or prepare to get your ass kicked into next week." That's when I hear a squawk that most certainly does not belong in Rusturf Tunnel. It's inhabited completely by Whismurs, not…whatever made that noise.

"Hello?" I call, venturing deeper. Something in the shadows moves, and Eve gives a high-pitched bark of alarm, but it's too late and my breath is crushed out of my lungs as Triple B's Poochyena pounces on me. Granted, he's not the biggest Pokémon in Hoenn, but it was still thirty plus pounds of dead weight that I did not really prefer to have dropped on my chest. I glare up over the top of the Poochyena at Blue Bandana Boy, who is grinning at me with a Wingull who has its talons roped down. I struggle under the Poochyena, but it growls and snaps its jaws, so I decide that might not be the best idea.

"Let me up," I snarl, my voice poisonous. Blue Bandana Boy just smirks. "I told you you'd get yours," He replies in that weird too-low-to-be-natural voice.

"Hey! Don't you know how to treat a lady?"

I've never been happier to hear Ryan Brewer's voice, even if what he said is stupid and probably should have been kept to himself. In a flash of orange and yellow, Ace tackles the Poochyena, and the two of them crash into the stone floor. I scramble to my feet, Eve obediently at my side, her intelligent brown eyes taking in Ace and Blue Bandana Boy's Poochyena's battle.

"Ace, ember!" Brewer orders. The Growlithe jumps back from the Poochyena and puffs out his chest, spewing flames.

The Poochyena yipes as Triple B snarls, "Poochyena, bite!" I look away as its jaws crunch around Ace. Eevee's squirming now, desperate to get into the thick of it and start kicking butt and taking names. We're kind of alike like that.

Instead, I quietly walk over to where the Wingull's tied down. "Shh…easy," I whisper, holding out a hand, palm up, so it knows I'm not going to hurt it. The seagull Pokémon watches me carefully with its beady eyes and I pray it wasn't open its fat beak and start squawking again as I start to untie the rope that bound its talons together. That's when it dawns on me: this must be Peeko, that old guy's Pokémon.

Behind me, Brewer and the Team Aqua guy are still trying to duke it out, but I'm not concerned. If I can beat Blue Bandana Boy, then Brewer won't have a problem. But this stupid rope! I grit my teeth and tug on the knot as best I can, but the thing's stuck fast. Without thinking, I flip out a pocket knife to saw the dumb thing off, but at the sight of the blade, the Wingull goes absolutely nuts, cawing and flapping its wings in a crazed frenzy.

Naturally, a show like that tends to grab people's attention, and Triple B and Brewer both snap their heads up to see me booking it out of that tunnel with the Wingull tucked under my arm like a football.

"Hey!" The Team Aqua member yells. "That was my hostage!" He runs after me.

"Hey! We're not finished here! Come back!" Brewer and Ace take off after Triple B and his Poochyena.

You can imagine the surprise had by Sam and the old man as I come busting out of Rusturf Tunnel with a Wingull under my arms, an Eevee at my heels, and a blue bandana wearing dude chasing after me with his Poochyena with Brewer and a Growlithe chasing after them. It probably resembles something like a three ring circus act.

Anyway, the good news: I rescued Peeko. The bad news: Triple B has cornered me and Brewer against the rocky exterior of the tunnel.

He looks seriously pissed, and quite frankly, I can't blame him. He's been beaten by me in Petalburg Woods, forced to re-steal to Devon goods, cornered in Rusturf Tunnel, been nearly beaten by Brewer and Ace and had his hostage stolen by yours truly. Needless to say, it's revenge time.

"You've already tried to beat us both before!" I shout, balling my fists, "How many times do we have to knock that Poochyena around until you leave us and Devon Corporation _alone?!"_

The Team Aqua member's face purples with rage, which clashes terribly with the blue of his bandana but whatever. "You stupid kid!" He shouts. "You don't understand the beauty of Team Aqua!"

"Yeah?" Brewer's eyes narrow. "You don't look like you're too sure yourself, buddy!" If the three of us had been left alone, Brewer and I would have ended up tag-teaming and taking out that pesky Poochyena once and for all. But instead I hear Sam yell, "Guys! Look out!"

That's when I see the biggest, most frightening and intimidating Pokémon I've ever seen before, _ever_. Its paws are probably the size of Eevee's whole head, and it's tall as my waist, its growl like the rumble of a volcano.

"What is that thing?" I hiss at Brewer.

"Hey, I'm from Kanto, remember? Besides, you're supposed to be the daughter of a Gym Leader. You tell me!" He replies under his breath.

I make a face and prepare to whip out my Pokédex, when a deep voice says; "Problems, Anthony?"

Triple B goes completely stiff, like he's just been zapped by a Pikachu. "B-Boss," he whimpers. "I swear it's not what it looks like!"

A man with a trimmed black beard and vivid blue eyes approaches us. A crisp blue bandana with crossbones stitched on it is atop his head.

"I don't believe it," I mutter. "It's like…Head Honcho Blue Bandana Boy!" Brewer rolls his eyes.

"Peace, Mightyena." He orders in his thunderous voice, and the jumbo-sized Pokémon before us ceases to imitate an erupting volcano. Anthony, A.K.A. Blue Bandana Boy and his Poochyena scuttle out of the way as the Head Honcho and his Mightyena take their place before me, Eve, Peeko, Brewer and Ace. Though I know we outnumber him two to one, I've got a sneaking suspicion Mr. Uber Bandana Boy won't be quite the pushover his lackey was.

"Who are you?" I demand.

He smiles oily. "You don't know me? Doesn't Norman teach his daughter about the dangers of Hoenn?"

I glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Head Honcho ignores me. "Hm, suppose not. After that little incident with your brother."

_Your brother._

My eyes go cold. My breath freezes in my chest. My hands snap into fists. Every rational thought in my head is shorted out.

"You _jackass!"_ I shout. Without thinking, I lunge forward, more than ready to beat this jerk to Kingdom Come.

Brewer's hands are around me in a flash. "Al, settle down!" he urges, holding me back. "That Mightyena will KO your Eevee in one hit!"

But I'm not listening. All I knew was that this stupid punk just brought up my brother, a serious taboo. I break free of my friend's grasp and throw my fist out, nailing the Mightyena right in the schnoz. It roars with rage and snarls, showing all its teeth. It leans back, preparing to lunge and I close my eyes, bracing myself…

But the blow never comes. I look up to see another gigantic Pokémon towering above me. Sunlight glints off of its steel armor and its blue eyes were crystalline and fierce. It roars and the trees shake with the noise.

"An Aggron…" I whisper, spellbound. I've seen one once before in a picture one of my books at home. But…why is it protecting me?

"Steven Stone, you good-for-nothing wrench!" Head Honcho shouts.

I look back at the Aggron to see a Trainer stepping out lithely from behind it. "Archie, charming as always. I do hope you're not harming this young girl, she _is_ under official Hoenn Protection you know."

Head Honcho, or, Archie I guess, is unruffled. "Forget about her! I'll defeat you once and for all! Mightyena, Sucker Punch!" The Mightyena rushes forward and a ghastly purple fog surrounds it as a phantom fist comes out, socking the Aggron right in the gut.

It looks like it hurt, but the Aggron just gives a deep rumble as Steven calls clearly, "Aggron! Metal Claw!" The Aggron's claws glow silver and then tear through the air at the Mightyena, sending the wolf-like Pokémon crashing into the side of Rustruf Tunnel. My eyes widen. A one-hit knock out.

Archie swears under his breath, looking up at Steven and his Aggron. "You win this time Stone. But don't ever get between me and my business again." His blue eyes settle on me. "And _you_," He glares. "Don't expect any mercy just because you're a kid. Mr. Stone here isn't always going to come to your rescue, go it? So keep your nose out of Team Aqua's business! Mightyena, return!" The huge Pokémon is returned to its Pokéball and Archie and Anthony vanish back into Route 116.

"That was crazy," I mutter.

-0-

After that whole escapade, it takes a little bit of time to get everything worked out.

First of all, Peeko is returned to the old guy, who is so pleased he starts sobbing with joy, much to our discomfort. Then Sam goes back to work in the cave, thanking us for clearing it for him. Finally we go to explain ourselves to this Steven Stone character.

"Thank you so much," I tell him. "You don't know how lucky we are that you came. There's no way we'd have been able to take out that Mightyena."

Stone nods, smiling. "But of course." God, he's such a charmer. With steel hair and turquoise eyes that shine in the sun, and a black suit trimmed with purple. "It's not really any of my business but I must ask, how did you get mixed up with Devon Corp. and Team Aqua anyway?"

So we explain to him about the incident in Petalburg Woods, and his face grows grave. "May I see that package?" He asks.

Brewer hands him the Devon Goods which he nicked from Anthony during their brief battle. He opens up the package and all the tiny nuts and bolts come tumbling out. Steven kneels onto the ground, his face concentrated as he rearranges them.

"Um…Mr. Stone?" I ask warily. "We kind of need to return those parts…so could you maybe not mess around with them?"

"Al," Brewer murmurs. "He actually looks like he knows what he's doing."

It's true. Stone starts to arrange the pieces together, and it actually looks like something.

"Some sort of…machine?" I ask, tilting my head and peering at the little…whatever…that Stone created.

"Almost like it was made to hold something," Brewer agrees.

Steven stands, his eyes meeting ours. "You are correct. This is a machine made to hold a meteor and extract its power. Something like this is very powerful. No wonder Team Aqua was after it." Steven's face is grim as he quickly disassembles the tiny machine and puts all the parts back into the bag. "If you don't mind, I'm going to hand deliver these to Devon. It's too valuable to get mixed up in the wrong hands. I don't want to think about what would happen if Archie got his hands on this."

"B-but," I stammer pathetically. "I was supposed to bring it back…" Steven opens his mouth to reply, when someone shouts, "Daisy! Go!"

A small gray-and-white cat-like Pokémon with a springy tail rushes forward, Lucy close behind, Zac and Castform on their heels.

"Allie! Brewer! Where's that Team Aqua freak, huh? Me and Daisy will take him out!" Lucy declares.

"I think the battle's already over, Luce…" Zac mutters, surveying the damage of Mightyena and Aggron's battle. "Are you two okay?" He asks.

I nod. "Yeah, we're fine. And Brewer got the Goods back."

"Well that's great!" Lucy cheers, but Zac's locking eyes with our new friend. "Steven Stone," he says carefully, his voice guarded.

Stone nods politely. "Zac Birch, a rare honor. Are you all traveling together?"

Zac shakes his head. "No sir, none of us are really Trainers. Hobbyists."

"_Hobbyists?!"_ I repeat indignantly.

Zac steps on my foot, flashing an easy smile at Stone. "We'll just be on our way now, Mr. Stone. Put in a good word for us at _Ever Grande City_." He throws me a loaded look. Ever Grande City? That's the Pokémon League, where the Elite Four battle! So this guy must be one of the Elite Four.

"Anyway…we'll see you around, sir." Zac waves to Steven as Lucy and Brewer drag me back to Rustboro.

-0-

"A _hobbyist?!"_

Lucy half-shrugs. "Well, you have to admit, Al. You don't have a single badge." She explains weakly.

"So? That's because I haven't got the right type! Roxanne uses Rock-Type. Eevee's Normal-Type. I'd be at a huge disadvantage!" I protest.

Lucy holds up he hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just pointing out simple facts. I know how strong you are, but without Badges, you won't get anywhere in the Pokémon world. And that's the hard truth."

I sit back, glowering. I know Badges are the way Trainers signify their power, but after Norman had taken up the job as Gym Leader, I'd never really thought of it the same way. But was it true? Was the key to finally getting out of Littleroot Gym Badges? I'd never even considered that.

A plan forming, I race over to the nearby café. "Now what's she up to?" I hear Brewer complain. I settle into a chair and pull out my notebook from school.

"Okay, so Roxanne is the Leader of Rustboro. She specializes in Rock-Type." I say, scribbling things down in my typical clumsy scrawl.

"Al, is there a point to this?" Zac asks tiredly.

"Shut up and order a croissant or something." I snap, scanning my notebook. "Okay, so if she uses Rock-Types, then I guess I'll need a Grass or a Water-Type." I frown. "But the only Pokémon around here are Bug, Normal and Flying-Type."

Zac looks thoughtful. "I could loan you Castfrom. He knows some Water-Type moves."

"No way!" I say fiercely. "I'm gonna catch my own Pokémon and beat Roxanne and get out of this stupid town once and for all!"

Yeah. Famous last words.

* * *

**Thanks again for reading, I hope you're enjoying it. **

**Leave a review, if that's your thing.**

**-Duchess**


	3. Chapter 3

"A Tailow?" I ask, confused.

Zac nods. "Yeah, they're really gutsy. They'll stand up to any opponent. Think Growlithe personality inside bird Pokémon."

I frown. "I know what they _are_, Zac Attack, but it won't help me beat Roxanne. Two birds with one stone, remember? Rock will overpower Flying-Type."

Lucy shrugs. "It probably wouldn't hurt to catch one anyway. It might be useful later."

I stare down at the tiny bird Pokémon. It's got a white chest and blue tail and wing feathers with a bright red head, marking it as a female, as opposed to the duller-colored males. "All right, Eevee, tackle!" I say, pointing. Eve races forward and slams into it, taking the bird Pokémon by surprise. "Follow it up with a sand-attack!" I call, as Eevee kicks up dirt with her back feet.

I reach into my pocket and pull out a marble-sized Pokéball, which expands to the size of a fist at my touch. I reflect briefly on how this will be my first captured Pokémon, then hurl it at the Tailow.

With a sweep of its wings, the feisty bird Pokémon knocks the ball away.

Lucy gasps, while Brewer bursts out laughing. "I don't believe it…" I mutter. "It…dodged it!"

Zac shrugs. "Maybe you didn't weaken it enough," he suggests. The Tailow gives me a hard look, like _quit throwing stuff at me, you moron,_ then spreads its wings wide and flies off.

"Well how do you like that?" I snap, hands on my hips.

Brewer snickers. "You're shaping up to be a great Pokémon Trainer," he taunts.

I scowl, whirling to face him and his stupid smug smirk. "Hey, at least I'm _trying_ to beat Roxanne, unlike you!"

"I bet I can beat her before you do!" He challenges, equally incensed.

"Oh yeah? Well then let's see who the real Pokémon Trainer is!" I shoot back.

"You're on!" he snaps.

Turning promptly on my heel, I stalk off, nose in the air. I don't need him. Lucy races after me. Her Glameow and my Eevee chat happily as we walked back to the Petalburg Woods, Zac and Brewer heading back to Route 116. As we walk, Eevee and Daisy suddenly stop their conversation.

"Huh? What's up, Eve?" I ask, glancing down at her.

"Look, what's that thing?" Lucy points to a blue finned creature with orange…things…on the side of its face.

"I have no idea…" I mutter, pulling out my Pokédex.

"Mudkip, Mud Fish Pokémon." The computer reads.

"Fish?" I repeat, my eyes lighting up. "That sounds pretty water-related to me! Go, Eevee!" In a flash, my brown and cream colored Pokémon is at my side.

"Wait!" Lucy cries. "Before you do anything rash, think about what happened last time you tried to catch a Pokémon."

My thoughts drifted back to the Tailow, and I wince. "That was just a fluke!" I snap at her.

Lucy nods patiently. "It might have been, but why risk it? If this Mudkip is the only way you're going to beat Roxanne, why don't you try a different strategy?"

A different strategy? I frown.

"Um…all right. Eevee, tail whip!" Eevee throws me a quizzical look over her shoulder.

"Eevee?" She asks, her voice laced with confusion.

"Ugh, I _know_ this isn't how we usually battle, would you just suck it up and turn on the charm?" I tell her, crossing my arms and glaring down at the pint-sized Pokémon.

With a roll of her chestnut eyes, Eevee skips forward, wagging her tail and mewing cutely. The Mudkip peered at her, clearly confused.

"Kip?" It queries. "Mudkip?" It approaches us slowly.

"Tail whip lowers the foe's defensive stat," Lucy says, comprehension dawning on her face. "So it'll be caught off guard when you catch it!"

"Exactly!" I say, smiling as the Mudkip continues to fall for Eve's charm.

"All right, here we go!" I pull out a Pokéball, but Lucy grabs my arm.

"Allie, don't you think you should wait a little longer?" She pleads, her forehead creased with concern.

I yank my arm out of her grasp. "No way! Brewer's probably at the Gym already, getting the Stone Badge! Pokéball, go!" I hurl the ball at the Mudkip.

"Oh geez, I can't look." Lucy covers her eyes while Eevee dances out of the way of the Pokéball. The Mudkip is zapped with a red light and swallowed by the Pokéball.

The red dot on the center part of the capsule system began flashing as the ball squirms back and forth. I bite my lip, watching it roll around. Then, it settles and the red dot vanishes.

I literally jump like, six feet in the air. Which is quite an accomplishment considering I'm a five foot five inch girl with zero vertical.

Lucy looks impressed. "I can't believe you actually caught it." She mutters.

I race forward to snatch up the Pokéball, when suddenly, it pops open. "Huh?" I blink and take a step back, confused. In a flash of white light, the Mudkip's outside again, looking up at me. "_What?!"_ I nearly choke. "What…how did…you…why?"

Lucy frowns, tilting her head to the side. "Um, Al? What's it doing with your Pokéball?"

I watch, stunned, as the Mudkip gently places its two front paws up on top of the Pokeball, and then pulls the rest of itself on top. The ball begins to roll and the Mudkip keeps lifting its feet, looking like a circus clown as it rolls around.

"It's…goofing off!" I cry indignantly.

Lucy nods. "Sure, that makes sense. Pokémon have personality quirks just like you and I. I guess your Mudkip just happens to be a clown."

I reach down and scoop up the Mudkip. "Okay little guy. I think I'll call you Neptune. You like to play around? I'm totally okay with-" I break off as Neptune spits mud into my face. "Hey!" I snap, dropping the Pokémon.

"Mudkip!" He giggles.

Sighing, I use my bandana to wipe the mud off my face. Figures. The one Pokémon I need to get out of Littleroot is a practical joker. Fantastic.

-0-

Here's how my epic showdown with Roxanne was _supposed_ to go.

I burst into Rustboro Gym, Eevee by my side. The other Trainers back away from us, faces filled with awe. My footsteps echo eerily around the spacious Gym as I approach the raised platform where Roxanne sits. She's nervous, of course, but that's only natural when facing me. We face each other, and she calls out her Geodude. I take time to laugh at her foolish choice, before sending out my Mudkip who uses a series of water guns to take out the Geodude. Brushing back tears, Roxanne gives me the Stone Badge.

"She's _gone?!"_ I shout. "What do you mean she's gone?"

The Trainer just shrugs. "I'm not sure. I agree it's rather unusual for Roxanne to leave the Gym, but she must have had something important to do over at Devon Corp." He jerks a thumb over at the humongous building across the street.

So, yeah. Lucy, Neptune, Eve and I had all made it back to Rustboro, only to find Roxanne had decided to take like, a lunch break or something. I don't even know.

"She's a Gym Leader!" I argue. "Her job is to battle Trainers like me!"

The Trainer holds up his hands. "Hey, I'm just a worker here. But trust me; questioning Roxanne's actions is a bad move. My advice would be to just chill out a stick around for her to come back."

I scowl. "Whatever. We'll see about this. C'mon guys." I march over to Devon Corp.

"Allie, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lucy asks anxiously. "Roxanne's really temperamental. You might be barking up the wrong tree."

I face her angrily. "Look. I've been pounced on by a Poochyena, rejected by a Tailow, challenged by my stupid friend. And now, I can't even freaking battle the Gym Leader who is my key to getting out of this dumb town!" I throw open the doors of Devon Corp., Lucy close behind.

The carpets are red velvet, and the walls are very ornate. I guess if I was in a good mood, I might have stopped to appreciate it all, but I had a Gym Leader to knock some sense into, so I storm past the secretary and her stupid styled hair and march right up to the man guarding the door. He stares down at me.

"I'm sorry," he says, "But only Devon Corp. personnel and their guests are allowed through here."

I ball my fists. "I need to talk to Roxanne!" I demand. "Please, it's really important!"

The man shakes his head. "No can do. Leader Roxanne's here on special business with Steven Stone and the President."

My heart skips. "Steven Stone?! But I know him!"

The guard stares me down. "Now, Steven Stone is a very important man, possibly the most important in all of Hoenn. How on earth would he know you?"

"No, you don't understand!" I cry. "We met outside Rusturf Tunnel! Tell him it's…" I pause. I'd never told him my name!

"Just…tell him it's the girl he saved from Team Aqua!" Lucy interjects, stepping up. "He'll understand."

The guard shakes his head. "Sorry kids. That's a private meeting. No one's going in there unless I say so."

I glare, clenching my teeth. Eevee snarls, her ears back, her eyes fierce. Neptune stares curiously at the pair of us. "Kip?" he asks, puzzled.

"Enough is enough! You have to let me through!" I yell.

The guard scowls, cracking his knuckles. "I don't like to use violence with kids, but if you don't leave this place right now you'll find yourself in a world of pain."

"Ha! You wish!" I snap. "Neptune, mud slap!"

"Allie, no!" Lucy protests, but it's too late.

"Mudkip!" He cries, spewing mud all over the guy's face.

"Argh!" The guy yelled, covering his face with his hands. "Why you little-" He makes a grab for me, but misses. "You runt! You'll pay for this!"

"What's going on out here?!" We all snap our heads up to see…

"Mr. Stone! Uh...gee, we were just...um…" I exclaim, alarmed. God, is my face as red as it felt? Please tell me it's not.

"Well, well, well. Allison Harper."

I ball my fists. I know that voice. It's the same voice that's always taunted me whenever I make a bone-head move while battling, or got Type Match-Ups mixed up. It's the same voice that's haunted me all through school.

"Roxanne!" I shout, glaring at her.

Roxanne stands, straight as ever. Her dress cuts off at the knees, her red tights in perfect condition, despite the fact she uses freaking _rock_ Pokémon and her brown hair in tight, uniform ringlets. I think about my own appearance: Dirty blonde hair pulled back in a lame ponytail, eyes that aren't green or gray or blue, but some weird combination of the three. A pair of jeans and a yellow-and-black jacket that has the Pokémon League emblem on the shoulder completes my oh-so-fashonista outfit. My cheeks burn as I glared at my old school rival.

She surveys the damage Neptune's mud slap had caused. "Tut, tut. Like Tarus in a china cabinet I tell you. She couldn't keep something clean and tidy if her Trainer's license depended on it." Roxanne smiles that wicked smile of hers. "Oh wait, how silly of me. You're not a Trainer, you're just a _hobbyist." _

"Watch your mouth, Roxanne," Lucy warns, taking a step beside me and unclipping a Pokéball from her belt.

"I came for a battle and I'm going to get one. Neptune!" I snap.

"Kip kip!" My blue Pokémon calls, jumping forward.

Roxanne blinks. "A Mudkip? How on earth did you get that?"

I smirk. "I caught it, how do you like that?"

Steven raises his eyebrows. "But…I don't think they're wild. The only person who has a Mudkip would be Professor Birch."

"So you stole a Pokémon?" Roxanne accuses, narrowing her eyes.

I blink, stunned. "What? No way! I caught it fair and square!"

"Yeah, I was with her!" Lucy argues.

Roxanne gives one of her little _humph_s. "Regardless. We're not going to have a battle."

"What?" I shout. "You have to battle me! It's in the rules!"

Roxanne shakes her head. "Not until I finish my business. Until then, why don't you go brush up on your Pokémon skills so when we do have a match, it'll last longer than ten seconds, okay?"

I glare. "You think you're so tough, how do I know you're not just scared because I finally have a type advantage over you?" Roxanne's cheeks flare red, and she hastily pushes past me, exiting Devon Corp.

"And I thought you and Brewer were bad," Lucy says, shaking her head.

Steven kneels down beside Neptune. "I bet this one got out and you mistook it for a wild Pokémon. I don't think you actually caught it…I think it's just playing along." He looks up and smiles gently. "You should probably return it."

My heart sinks. "But…I was so sure." I stare down gloomily at the Mudkip. "It was my only shot at finally beating Roxanne."

Reluctantly, I turn to troop out of Devon Corp, but Lucy catches my arm. "I'll come with," she offers, her bright blue eyes sympathetic.

I shake my head. "Nah, it's okay. Norm—Dad'll be wondering where I am."

Lucy nods, still looking a little concerned. I scoop up the tiny blue Pokémon and walk out as Eevee trots after me.

The trip back through Petalburg Woods is quick with the help of the ridges, and I had just made it to the edge of Petalburg when I hear a voice cry: "Geodude, rockslide!"

I blink with surprise. "Roxanne…" I whisper, then take off.

Sure enough, the Gym Leader is in the middle of a battle with a woman wearing a blue bandana and a tight-fitting blue-and-white striped T-shirt. She has bushy red hair and a Crawdaunt in front of her. Roxanne's Geodude hurls the rocks at its opponent, but they shatter harmlessly off the Crawdaunt's hard shell.

The woman laughs. "Going to have to do better than that, sweetie. Or can't you?"

Roxanne curls her hands into fists as the woman yells; "Crawdaunt! Bubblebeam!" The Crawdaunt scuttles backwards and opens its mouth wide, shooting out a stream of bubbles that attach themselves to the Geodude, who writhes in pain.

Roxanne bites her lip as she watches her Pokémon suffer. "Dude…" It groans.

"All right!" Roxanne calls back her Pokémon, her eyes tortured and downcast. "All right, you win."

The woman grins. "Lovely. Now, why don't you start by telling me what that fossil the Ruin Maniac found is? And why is Steven Stone sticking his nose into it?"

Roxanne takes a deep breath, her eyes on the ground. "The fossil is—"

"Roxanne, _no!"_ I shout, rushing forward from behind my hiding place. Roxanne and the woman look up in surprise as I vault over a fence and sprint to the Gym Leader's side.

The woman sneers. "Well, well, well. Norman's little brat, hm?" She crosses her arms. "You're not even a real Trainer," she adds acidly.

I glare at her. "Oh, I'm real all right. Real enough to beat you!" I have _got_ to work on my opening lines.

The woman raises her eyebrows. "Is that so? Well then…let's find out, shall we?" She grins wickedly, unclipping a new Pokéball. "Go, Carvanha!" And she tosses her Pokéball into the nearby lake.

I blink, looking over at Roxanne. "Did she just throw her Pokéball in the water?" I ask stupidly.

Roxanne's eyes are edgy. "Don't let your guard down," she advises. Suddenly, a monstrous, red-and-yellow _thing_ bursts out of the water.

"Ah!" I cry, stumbling back. "What the hell is _that?_"

The woman laughs. "What's the matter, kiddy? Never had a water battle before?"

I bite my lip. Um, _no_. I can't say I have. But it's not like I'm going to tell her that. I whip out my Pokédex and aim it and the Pokémon, still lurking under the surface of the lake.

"Carvanha," The electronic voice reads, "the Savage Pokémon. Carvanha has powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth able to chew through solid steel. Carvanha will form packs and attack any invaders in its territory." I swallow, or more accurately; _gulp._ Savage Pokémon? Fantastic.

"All right Eevee—" I begin.

"No!" Roxanne cuts in.

I scowl over at her. "Shut up, Roxanne," I snap.

She shakes her head. "No, listen! Use Neptune!"

"Kip?" Neptune looks up at me, his large sapphire eyes curious. As much as I hated to admit it, Roxanne's right. Eevee is stuck on land, and won't stand a chance against that weird spawn of Jaws swimming around.

"All right…Neptune, I choose you!" I say.

Neptune jumps out of my arms and dashes to the water's edge, leaping in gracefully. I run after him, staring down into the clear water. The Carvanha bares its teeth at my Mudkip, who treads water a few feet above it.

"Carvanha! Bite!" The woman suddenly yells. The shark-like Pokémon torpedoes forward, its jaws wide.

"Neptune! Quick, mud slap!" I cry desperately. Mudkip quickly dives, cutting through the water faster than I thought possible to swiftly swallow a mouthful of muddy lake bottom. He then paddles back up behind the Carvanha who turns to face his prey—and gets a face-full of mud for his troubles as Neptune spews the contents at his foe.

I punch the air. "Ha! Yes! Way to go Neptune!" I swear that Mudkip's grinning.

The woman scowls. "Carvanha, use Whirlpool!" She orders sharply. The Pokémon darts forward with impossible speed, circling Neptune.

"Neptune!" I yell, dropping to my knees at the water's edge. "Neptune, no! Get out of there!"

"Kip!" He cries, desperately trying to swim out of the Carvanha's current, but getting sucked back in.

"Ah! Neptune! C'mon buddy! You can do it!" I shout, panicked. He cries out and wriggles desperately, but he is hopelessly trapped.

I stare, my eyes wide. That isn't even _my_ Pokémon, but he's still fighting for me. How can I let him get hurt?

"Carvanha," the woman snickers. "Finish it off."

"No!" I dive into the water in a flash, landing right between the two battling Pokémon, opening my eyes to see a blurry red-and-yellow demolition ball swimming right toward me. Ah, that'd be the Carvanha.

"Allison!" I hear the muffled scream of Roxanne as I swim towards the Mudkip, forcing my way through the whirlpool.

"Gotcha!" I pull the tiny Pokémon into a hug, just as I'm slammed by the Carvanha. "Ah!" I yell with pain, but all I get for my stupidity is a stream of bubbles and a mouthful of lake water. I hastily swam to the surface, towing the Neptune with me. Roxanne helps me on to the sandy banks of the water's edge.

"Allison!" her voice is high, stressed. "Allison, you idiot! What were you thinking?!"

"My…arm…" I managed to mutter weakly, as Eevee scrambles forward and begins mewing with concern.

"Oh my God," Roxanne gasps. "You're bleeding!"

"_Allison?!"_ I groan. Perfect.

"Go away, Dad," I moan, turning my head away from his approaching footsteps. Why did I have to pick a fight with a notorious gang member right next to my dad's Gym?

"Roxanne! What happened, what's wrong?" He demands tersely.

"A Team Aqua member," Roxanne explains. "Shelly, I think. She's one of the administrators. Battled Allison and her Mudkip. When the battle went south, well, Allison decided it'd be a good idea to take on a fifty-pound Pokémon with razor sharp teeth."

I hear Norman suck in a breath. "It attacked her?" He asks hoarsely.

"No, we'd be fishing out bits and pieces of her if it did." Roxanne replies, still managing to come off as dry as the freaking desert despite the situation, "These shallow cuts are results of the Carvanha's Rough Skin ability. When it bashed into her like that, it scratched her. Like Beedrill stings to a Pokémon, but Allison's only human, so she'd probably in a world of pain."

I moan again. Well, Roxanne had one thing right.

"All right," Dad says, "We'll get you to a Pokémon Center. Come on, there's one right here—"

"Allie?!" A new voice cries my name. One I don't recognize at first.

"Not now, Wally," Norman chides as he gingerly picks me up.

"Leader Norman…what happened?" The boy asks, sounding so terrified I'd roll my eyes if I wasn't laying face-first in the dirt. I got hit by a fish Pokémon, not a _bus_.

"A Carvanha attacked her, now go away, boy." Roxanne snaps testily, following Norman and I briskly along the path to the Pokémon Center.

"Wally?" I ask weakly, looking around for the head of gray hair that identifies the little boy.

"Allie!" Wally Miller's turquoise eyes meet mine, his usually cheerful grin twisted into a terrified gasp. "Are you okay?"

I roll my eyes. Leave it to Wally to ask a bleeding girl being carried to a Poké Center if she's _okay_.

"I'm fine Wally; just do me a favor and get Professor Birch, okay?" I tell him.

Roxanne frowns, mystified. "Birch? Why?"

I glare at her. "This is his Mudkip, isn't it?" I shoot back.

She blinks, and her face softens just a touch. "The way you battled with it," she murmurs, "I'd have thought it had been with you as long as your Eevee."

* * *

**I don't know about all you, but I always got this snobby, ice princess vibe from Roxanne. I honestly never liked her character. Maybe it's because the time I started with a Torchic I ended up trying to beat her with an army of Wurmples.**

**Hint: it didn't work.**

**I hope you're enjoying the story. I'm going to try to get a regular updating time, but until then I hope you'll enjoy my random updates.**

**-Duchess**


	4. Chapter 4

"Allie!"

"Ugh," I groan and roll over. "Geez, Brewer. You're so freaking loud!"

The brown-haired boy kneels next to my bed, his brilliant blue eyes wide, his forehead creased. "Allie, what happened?"

"Carvanha," Zac says. I raise my head to see him standing at the foot of my bed, my medical files in his hand.

"What, Rough Skin?" Brewer asks.

Zac nods, his hazel eyes assessing me over the rim of his glasses. "What I want to know," he says quietly. "Is how in the hell a Carvanha got close enough to you to administer its Rough Skin ability."

I groan, floppng over.

"Might as well tell us all now." Lucy advises from the chair next to Brewer.

I sigh, sitting up. "Roxanne and I were approached by a member of Team Aqua. Roxanne said she thought it was a woman named Shelly. Anyway, her Crawdaunt beat the crap out of Roxanne's Geodude, so me and my Mudkip stepped in."

"Mudkip?" Zac blinks. "Since when do you have a Mudkip? Dad's the only one with one of those."

I glare. "So everyone keeps reminding me. I found it, okay? He must have gotten out, he's got a goofy nature."

Lucy gives Zac a reproachful look. "Cool your jets, Zac Attack. I was with her when she caught it."

Zac just waves for me to continue.

"So anyway, Neptune gets a good Mud Slap in and everything's going fine until Shelly has her Carvanha use Whirlpool. Neptune gets sucked in and the Carvanha goes in for the kill and…" I trail off biting my lip.

Brewer's eyes go flat. "And what?" He demands.

"And I kinda sotra…jumped in and tried to save him." I mutter. Yeah, that sounded a lot more intelligent in my head.

Lucy gasps, hands flying to her mouth. "Allie!" She cries, blue eyes wide. "You didn't!"

"I had to!" I argue. "Look, like Zac said the poor guy just wandered up to me. You think I could let him get KO'd when he's not even _mine_?_" _

Zac glares, folding his arms over his chest. "You shouldn't have battled Shelly anyway, Allie. She's a Team Aqua administrator; you're a rookie trainer at best. She's out of your league."

"Ugh!" I throw my legs over the side of the bed, climbing angrily to my feet. "Shut up, Zachary! Alright? Just shut up!"

"Al?" Lucy's forehead creases with concern and Brewer's on his feet.

"Everyone is so…so _obsessed_ with my safety! Norman treats me like a week-old _Skitty_! And you guys, my _friends—"_ I twist the word "—don't even back me up! 'Oh, Allie's just a hobbyist,' 'Oh, Allie can't beat Roxanne,' 'Oh, Allie can't catch a freaking Tailow.'" I glare, scowling at all of them.

Brewer chuckles. "You left out the part where we said 'Oh, Allie can't battle a Team Aqua Admin."

I flash him my darkest look, before I see him barely suppressing a smile. Brewer shakes his head, chuckling. "You need to chill out Al, really. I'm worried you're actually starting to take yourself seriously." I punch his shoulder and he returns with a jab to the ribs and it probably would have ended in a knockdown, drag out fight right then if Lucy hadn't intervened, forcing me, Zac and Brewer into a group hug.

"Well, we're all here now, and that's what matters, right?" Lucy grins up at me. Well what's a girl to do? Sandwiched painfully between Brewer and Zac I nod.

"Allison?" I detangle myself hastily and look up to see Professor Birch walking in, holding a familiar blue Pokémon in his hands.

"Neptune!" I shout, running over.

"Kip!" He cries happily, squirming to get out of Birch's grip.

Birch chuckles. "Quite a wily one you got here," he observes, passing the Pokémon over. Neptune and I grinn at each other, before I sigh.

"Er, sorry it got out," I mutter awkwardly, holding the Pokémon back out to Birch, my shoulders slumping. Birch raises his eyebrows, watching the Mudkip thrash.

"Kip!" He snaps, and spits a mouthful of mud in the Prof.'s face. I cough to hide a snicker while Zac bursts out laughing. "Er…sorry about that Professor." I say, hastily pulling out my bandana. Birch accepts it with a chuckle, wiping it down his face.

"Quite alright, quite alright," the Prof. replies. "It seems this little fella would rather stay with you. Now what did you call him?"

"Neptune," I reply happily, tickling the Pokémon under his chin. "The Roman god of the sea." I thought it was pretty awesome, but Brewer snorts behind me, effectively ruining my shining moment.

Birch hastily claims my attention before I can turn to smack my rival upside the head. "Now, Allison. I've been informed you made a very important friend today, am I right? Steven Stone?" I nod, frowning as he fishes a letter from his knapsack. "Mr. Stone had to leave for Granite Cave on some urgent business. The President of Devon Corporation requests you take this to him."

"Yeah, sure," I agree, only half-listening as I watch Roxanne hand Zac a parcel with a stern look.

He gives me the envelope and I tuck it securely in my back pocket. Birch notices and frowns.

"That won't do…" he mutters. "Go speak with your dad, Allison. And get some basic adventuring supplies. I know you're only going to Dewford but better safe than sorry." The cheerful Professor gives me an amiable wave as he walks off, Roxanne skulking after him.

"Zac," I ask, my voice barely controlled. "Kindly explain to me why your dad thinks Norman will even _consider_ letting me go on the little escapade?"

Zac looks as helpless as I feel. "I have no idea."

-0-

"No,"

I groan. "Dad, come on! I haven't even—"

"Allison, you're not going." Dad's voice gets dangerous.

I'm standing in the Leader's room of my dad's Gym, having an argument with his back, as he stubbornly refuses to face me, his gaze trained on the windows. I sigh in exasperation. "Dad, _please!_ Steven Stone himself asked me!"

Dad's voice is darkly amused as he shoots back, "Do you even know who Steven Stone _is?"_

Dammit. He found the hole in my ace. Like he always did.

Okay, all you nit-picky people out there, the ones going, 'C'mon, Al. You _live_ in Hoenn, how can you not know everything about it?' It goes like this. Ask me about Hoenn's history. It's towns, it's attractions, the routes, anything. I got that. But as far as Gym Leaders and Elite Four go? Well…I was sorta familiar with them. I knew Roxanne, obviously. But my knowledge didn't really extend outside of Norman and Brawnly, Dewford's Leader. Gym Leader's are like celebrities. You only really know your favorite ones. Besides, you have to remember that ever since Norman got the job as a Leader, I'd never looked at it the same way. And, my parents are of the over-protective variety. So curiosity in traveling is a big no-no. And the native Pokémon…my knowledge was still kind of spotty. Sure, I could point out the difference between a Cascoon and a Silacoon, and list Type Matchups so fast your head would spin, but my general Pokémon know-how was confined to the cities of Littleroot, Petalburg and Oldale.

I am a sheltered child.

Anyway, back to my argument with Norman's back. The one I'm steadily losing.

"Dad, come on. Obviously he's some kind of head-honcho. Even Roxanne respects him."

"Allison, you are not going to Dewford and that is that."

I throw my hands in the air, a knee-jerk reaction even though I know he can't see me.

"Why? Give me one logical, reasonable excuse that explains why I can't go."

"I said so."

I roll my eyes, then remember he can't see that either.

"I'm rolling my eyes, Dad," I tell him tartly.

"I'm not surprised."

"If you don't give me a good excuse, I'll go anyway," I threaten. What's he going to do? Send his Pokémon on me? _No._

"Allison, if I gave you a _hundred_ reasons you'd still go," he retorts.

He's so right. That old man knows me way too well.

"So, in other words, since I'm going no matter what you say, I'm going to stop by home and grab some supplies." I tell rather than ask, spinning around to face the door to leave.

I hesitate, my hand hovering over the doorknob, waiting for him to stop me.

He doesn't disappoint, as his hand catches my arm before I can open the door.

"Just to Dewford." His voice is quiet. "No further."

The adventurer in me is begging for me to throw off his hand and stalk off and proceed to travel around Hoenn for as long as I damn well please.

But the daughter in me drifts back to Zac's words.

_You know why they do it, Allie. It's not because of you._

So I just sigh, tightening my jaw against the wild accusations I want to throw at him.

"Yeah, Dad. Just Dewford."

His hand leaves my arm and I walk out into the night.

-0-

Despite the fact that I seem like a particular crazy individual, I do have limits.

I call them my "psycho quotas" and as far as I was concerned, the day's events definitely filled them.

I replay them in my head as I walk back home.

Get attacked by a notorious gang member? Check.

Fail miserably to catch a Pokémon? Check.

Piss off a Gym Leader? Check.

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I just need to get out of here. A change of scenery. That's all.

"Help!"

I stop short, glancing around anxiously.

"Help, someone, please!"

My eyes widen as I place the cry for help with a familiar face…

"Wally!" I take off running towards the sound.

Wally Miller's cowering in a thicket of tall grass, trembling before a Tailow.

"Wally?" I dash to his side, startling the Tailow, who attempts to flutter backwards, but seems unable to.

I give it a troubled glance but turn to Wally instead. "Are you okay?" I ask anxiously. Geez if anything happens to this kid, Norman'll _flog_ me.

Wally Miller is commonly called the "miracle child" for the simple reason that he was born with a hole in his heart. This leads to fatigue, shortness of breath and general weakness. He's a sweet kid, and everyone treats him as a kid brother. My dad had confided in me a few weeks ago that Wally was going to have to move to Verdanturf because the cleaner air would be easier on him.

"I…I was just…" Words fail him, and I turn back to the seemingly injured Pokémon. "Easy," I tell the Tailow quietly, reaching out towards it.

In a flash of blue and red, another Tailow has flown between me and the wounded Pokémon, striking out with its beak and slicing my finger.

I yank my hand back reflexively, biting back a swear for Wallly's sake, eyeing the second Tailow as it takes a stance before the injured one, its wings spread wide, it's eyes fierce.

Perfect. Another God-forsaken Tailow.

Just what I need.

More importantly though, Wally seems to be in a pretty bad shape. His breathing's shallow, and his face is a sickly pale, a thin layer of sweat makes his face shine in the receding sun. Anxiousness gnaws at my gut; first aid isn't really my forte, that's Zac's area.

And that Tailow isn't looking much better. I give a frustrated growl as I stare down the stubborn Pokémon guarding it. I'm in Route 101, for God's sake. I can practically _see_ the red roof of Oldale's Pokémon Center!

It would be a simple matter of gathering up the Tailow and towing Wally along with me back to the tiny town.

But the healthy Tailow isn't about to let me near it, my bleeding finger is proof of that. I try to get a good look at the injured one, just visible above the splayed wings of its guardian. It seems timid, the way it's cowering behind the first, not at all like its gutsy friend, feisty enough to attack a human, a rarity in most wild Pokémon. The tough one is a female, I can tell by her furiously crimson feathers, whereas he wounded companion is duller, and therefore male. I've seen many Tailows, given my tiny traveling space, but there's something distinctly familiar about the one who pecked at my finger.

My eyes widen as I stare at her.

You have _got_ to be kidding me.

My hand creeps to my pocket, and I pull out a Pokéball, holding it out towards the Tailow.

At the sight of the capsule system, her face gets fiercer yet, and she lets loose a battle cry; a sharp shriek that tears through several octaves, making my ears ring and scattering a nearby flock of Wingulls, who fly off, squabbling.

Great, not only is this the Tailow that dissed me this morning, but she freaks at the sight of a Pokéball. If I can't catch her, how the hell am I supposed to get her out of the way?

I could always battle her…but that might take a while, given my inexperience and the fact that, in all honesty, this ferocious bird Pokémon looks mean enough to give Neptune and Eve a run for their money.

My thoughts are abruptly disrupted as a flurry of sandy feathers catch my eye, and I glance up to see a Pidgy shooting towards us, its talons sharp and pointing outwards.

Pidgy aren't native to Hoenn…that must mean…

"Captain, tackle!" Brewer's voice breaks the silence as his Pidgy slams into the Tailow, taking her by surprise and sending the two tumbling to the ground. I hastily scoop up the injured Tailow, and climb clumsily to my feet.

The Tailow sees this and she streaks towards me, but Captain beats her to it and knocks her out of the air. Cradling the injured Tailow under one arm and yanking Wally up unceremoniously with my other, I run to the nearby Poké Center.

The automatic doors slide back, and the local Nurse Joy glances up, alarmed as I haul my "patients" up to the desk. The nice thing about Nurse Joys: they're totally calm, even when you drag in a boy who looks ready to drop dead and a hurt Pokémon.

She quickly bustles out from behind her desk, asking no questions as she helps Wally into a chair. "Wally Miller?" She verifies, glancing at me. I nod; are there any other ten year-old boys with gray hair who pass out in fields of tall grass?

She gently shakes the small boy, and his eyes flicker open. "Wally? Wally, are you alright?"

His turquoise eyes focus on her, and he nods slowly before turning to me, then he snaps to attention. "Allie!" He cries, his eyes going wide. "Oh, Allie! I was trying to catch a Pokémon, when I found that hurt Tailow and I tried to help it but then the other one came out of nowhere and it scared me and then my chest started feeling funny and I got really dizzy and fell down and—" I cut him off before he gives himself heart failure.

"Easy, Wally," I tell him gently. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Easily pacified, he sits back in his chair while Nurse Joy turns to the Tailow in my arms. She leads me to the back into an operating room and lays the Pokémon on a table. It gives a feeble cry as she examines it. "Ah…a broken wing," she murmurs. "He'll have to stay here overnight…" She trails off, muttering more fancy medical terms under her breath as I hear the automatic doors hiss open once more.

I poke my head out the door of the operating room to see Brewer standing in the lobby, a struggling bundle of blue-and-red feathers in his hands. "Brewer?" I ask in shock, causing him to glance up. His hold on the Tailow in his grasp must slacken, because she shoots out from his hands and zips right into the operation room. Nurse Joy blinks in surprise at she hops up next to her injured companion, her ruby eyes appraising.

I also look the fierce bird over; she didn't seem hurt at all. That surprises me; Captain's a tough little Pidgy. "He's gonna be okay," I tell the Tailow softly, and reach out with the same finger she'd snapped at earlier to stroke her carefully.

To my surprise, she doesn't fight me, or even turn. She just gives a half-hearted little tweet, like a sigh. Brewer walks in then, laying a hand on my shoulder. "You better get home, Hoenn Girl, you've done enough here. Get some sleep."

My lips twitch in a ghost of a smile at the use of my old nickname, _Hoenn Girl._ "Whatever you say, Kanto Boy," I reply, standing. I cast one more look at the two of them; the injured and healthy Tailows, before ducking out of the Pokémon Center.

* * *

**For those of you who don't know, Wally is not an O.C., but a real character in the game. I always pegged him as the sort of adorable puppy type. The game developers could have programmed him to follow me throughout the game and I would have been cool with it. Anyway, I'll I did was specify his illness and give him a boring last name.**

**And for all you by-the-book gammers out there, I ****_know_**** there's no visible difference between male and female Tailows, but if they all looked the same like the did in the game, it'd make for a pretty boring story. **

**I hope it's as fun to read as it is to write. Reviews are always welcome but I'm not going to roll over and beg for 'em. A simple view will make me happy enough.**

**-Duchess**


	5. Chapter 5

"Late as usual," Roxanne, of course.

"Give it a rest," Lucy snaps at the Leader, always ready to defend me.

I smirk, walking up, one hand on my backpack strap, the other holding Eevee to my side. "Hey gang, what's the word?"

Lucy smiles, "Nothing much, just waiting for Zac and Brewer to get back."

So, yeah. Today was finally the day. I was finally going to be able leave Littleroot for the first time in my life. Of course, since one of us was going, the rest of us had to go as well, it was practically the law. That _un_-included Roxanne, who was just here to see us off, and while her presence didn't make me _happy_, even the sulky, snooty Gym Leader couldn't dampen my mood today.

"Where are Brewer and Zac?" I ask, facing my friend. Lucy shrugs, a colorful tote on her arm. "They ran off with Wally to route 102, they should be back pretty soon."

Wally. I feel a twinge of guilt at the way I'd sorta ditched him in the Pokémon Center last night. Luckily, Brewer had been there to pick up the slack and had even stayed with the kid overnight in the Center. According to Norman, they were releasing the two Tailows back into the wild today.

"Alright, Allie?"

I turn to the new voice, grinning. Another stroke of luck.

Mr. Briney, A.K.A. crazy-old-guy-at Rusturf-Tunnel-with-the-Wingull smiled at me, shielding his eyes against the bright morning sun. Mr. Briney was an experienced sailor and had heard we'd need a ride to the island town of Dewford. For saving his Peeko, the old seadog had declared, he'd go to sea for us anytime.

Transportation to Dewford? Check.

"Yeah, I'm doing pretty good," I tell him mildly. Good? I'm practically floating on cloud nine. I'm leaving Littleroot! I'm _ecstatic._

"Look, here they come!" Lucy suddenly cries, pointing to the woods, where Brewer, Zac and Wally are exiting. I squint, peering at the Pokéball Wally's got clutched in his hands. Now how did that get there?

Brewer sees the object of my attention and flashes a grin. "Wally's leaving today too, for Verdanturf, so we decided to catch him a Pokémon."

Lucy and I exchange some eyebrow traffic.

That was nice…and slightly creepy.

Honestly, I couldn't remember the last time Brewer'd done something that could be vaguely confused with chivalrous. And besides that, his casual manner pissed me off. So he'd _decided_ to catch a Pokémon, had he? My thoughts drift angrily back to the Tailow, and I scowl.

"A Ralts!" The sickly boy declares, holding the Pokéball in the air like it was the Holy Grail.

More eyebrow traffic.

Not only had they caught him a Pokémon, but they caught him a _rare_ one.

I shake off my suspicion and try for a smile. I'm leaving today, who cares if Brewer's being weirdly nice?

"So I guess the Tailows got back alright?" I ask as they join me on the dock.

This time, Zac and Brewer exchange glances. My eyes narrow. "What happened?" I demand instantly.

Zac holds up his hands in surrender. "Cool it, Al," he warns. "Before you bite my head off, the injured Tailow is better, and happily flying around. However…the other one…"

I cry out with surprise as something land on my shoulder, its talons digging painfully into my skin.

"Ow! What the…" I trail off, eyeing the Tailow on my shoulder in disbelief.

I give Zac a flat look. "You're kidding."

Zac shrugs, grinning weakly. "Apparently she wants to stay with you."

I sigh, looking back at the Pokémon. She's all nestled in, preening contently, like she'd been there all along. Well, if she wanted to stay with me, let her.

"Alright...Skyler…" I decide, smiling slightly. She perks her head up at her new name, her eyes just as fierce as yesterday.

"What, no mythology this time?" Brewer teases, earning a sharp look from both me and my new Tailow.

"I'll have her claw your eyes out, Brewer, so help me." I warn him.

A loud sigh causes us all to look up at Roxanne, who scowling, per usual.

"Were you planning on getting to Dewford before winter?" She asks coolly, glowering.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever, Roxanne." I try to brush past her and climb onto Mr. Briney's boat, but she steps in front of me, blocking my way. I frown, confused. "What?" I ask, my voice rude.

She huffs a little before squaring her shoulders and thrusting her fist out. I peer at her hand as she pulls back her fingers. There, in her palm, is the Stone Badge.

"Oh, _hell_ no!" I snap, shoving her hand away. She blinks, surprised. "You don't…want it?" I glare, grinding my teeth. "Don't even start with me Roxanne. What happened yesterday with Shelly _does not_ earn me the Stone Badge." She looks completely bewildered, so I continue. "When I get back from Dewford, me and Neptune will annihilate you, _then_ you can give me the badge, and I'll laugh in your face."

"Charming," Lucy mutters as Roxaane slowly pulls her hand back. She finally nods and I take one more look around before climbing into the boat.

-0-

"Why didn't you take the Badge?"

I don't need to turn to know it's Brewer. Sure, I recognize his voice, but Lucy wouldn't pry like that, and Zac wasn't interested enough to care. Besides, those two are both inside, Zac chatting with Mr. Briney, Lucy probably daydreaming, leaving me and my old rival on the deck.

"Because I didn't earn it," I reply curtly.

Brewer shrugs. "You'll get it eventually," he tells me, leaning against the guardrail as we speed toward Dewford.

I shoot him a guarded glance. "You make it sound like you did," I tell him coldly. He doesn't reply, and I give myself a little pat on the back for shutting him up so quickly before it dawns on me.

I spin on him, my eyes wide. "Brewer! You…Gale!"

Brewer's Golduck, Gale, peers at me from behind his master's legs, and I feel fury rise up in me. A water type. How could I've forgotten?

He then hands me a flat piece of plastic and I snatch it away angrily, examining it.

_Ryan Joseph Brewer_ stares back at me, as does a picture of the cocky Trainer. Below all of his stats, in the small square space, the Stone Badge glitters where it's been pinned to his Trainer Card.

"When did you get it?" I ask, unable to look away from the shining Badge. He smirks and reclaims his Card. "When you were off stealing Mudkips," he replies smugly.

I turn to march back into the ship's interior with what little dignity I have left, when he catches my arm. "Aw, c'mon, don't be like that. Here, Zac got you one too." I frown as he hands me another Card. Only this one has _my_ name and _my_ picture.

…but no Stone Badge.

But still, a Trainer Card? I was pissed at him, but I still smiled a little. I was officially a Trainer.

I glance up as the boat suddenly stutters to a stop. We'd arrived already.

"Oh, and Allie?" I look over at Brewer, who has one foot over the guardrail. "Don't fall _too_ far behind."

And with that, he winks and drops off the side of the boat, onto the dock while I glower after him, my response lost on the wind as he darts off into Dewford.

-0-

"Uh…Allie? Wouldn't this be easier with Flash?"

I roll my eyes. _Flash_. One of the worst words in the English language as far as I'm concerned. A seemingly worthless HM that I didn't have any intention of teaching to any of my Pokémon. Why? Because it's not my style, that's why. You want a smart, intelligent, tricky Trainer who's great at using stat-reduction moves to win matches?

Keep looking. 'Casue I'm not it.

Seriously, Growl is just a synonym for _terrible_. Along with Sand-Attack and Charm and Screech and Metal Sound and Fake Tears and Leer and…

"Allie?" Lucy again, she sounds torn between giving me a good scolding and running hell-for-leather out of Granite Cave.

My childhood friend always had a teensy issue with caves.

And by teensy I mean I practically had to drag her in here.

We'd arrived at Dewford what felt like hours ago, and I had promptly darted to Granite Cave, eager to complete my task, while Zac and Brewer had wandered off elsewhere.

"I know, Luce," I tell her, a rare display of patience. "But Flash only works with the Knuckle Badge, and I don't have it. So until such time that I do, we're just going to have to keep on keeping on."

"And by keep on keeping on you mean stumbling around hopelessly in the dark," comes her reply, dry as the desert.

Now I wonder who taught her that.

"Lucy, look. I'm not going to teach my Pokémon some worthless move just to make your life easier. I have no problem wandering around in the dark, because chances are, even if I could see, I'd still be hopelessly lost. Besides, I have to get the letter to Steven!"

Lucy eyes me in the minimal light of the cave.

"You're still pissed at Brewer," she decides, giving me a knowing look.

I scowl at her, not pleased at being read so easily. "Of course I am! You _know_ he and Zac are already at the Gym, getting the Badge, while I'm stuck in this God-forsaken cave!"

"Keep on keeping on," she reminds me, and I sigh.

She's right, of course. So Brewer was getting his second Badge, it's not like I could do anything about it. Maybe I could get one before we went back to Littleroot.

I glance over at Skyler, who's sitting on my shoulder, piercing gaze trained straight ahead. The feisty Pokémon was tough, no doubt. She'd proven that pretty well already.

But could she beat Brawly? I had no idea.

"Allie! Look!" Lucy seizes my arm, and I snap out of my thoughts to see a ladder dead ahead. _Finally. _We'd literally been in here forever. I stumble over to the ladder and climb down, Lucy following suit.

"Well, this is the last level, according to that hiker guy." I think back to the friendly mountaineer at the mouth of the cave. "Mr. Stone should be around here somewhere."

I take a few steps forward, surprised when Lucy doesn't follow me. I toss her a look over my shoulder. "Luce? What's—" She cuts me off, raising a finger. I realize Daisy is growling delicately, and Skyler's grip on my shoulder has gotten tighter as her sharp eyes rake the surrounding area.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounded like a kid."

My eyes flip wide, then narrow as two shadows approach us. Who in their right mind would be wandering around like us?

Lucy and I huddle in the darkness. "Hikers?" she whispers. I shake my head. A hiker'd have enough sense to use Flash. "You don't think…" Understanding dawns on my face.

"Aqua," we whisper together; I say the word like an oath, she says in in fear.

I take a step forward, ready to go toe-to-toe with these Aqua punks, when they step out into the faint light.

They're our age, that much is clear. Trainers too, judging by the Pokéballs on their belt. But their clothes…

Two teens saunter forward, a girl and a boy, both wearing black pants and T-shirts, along with a weird crimson cape/hoodie thing. A large hood covered half their face, with large black spikes sprouting from the top.

It was the single most hilarious thing I'd ever seen in my life.

So, naturally, I burst out laughing.

Their eyes zero in on me instantly, and Lucy yanks me backwards and we go running through the darkness, praying not to run smack into a wall.

After a few minutes we slow to a walk. "Are you okay?" She asks me anxiously. I laugh. "Of course, Lucy, what are you so worried about? That was _hysterical_." She frowns, crossing her arms. "No, Al. It wasn't. That was Team Magma."

The name cuts my laughter off immediately. "Who?"

"Magma. They want to cut off all water, make more land for people and Pokémon. They're Aqua's arch rival."

"Oh," I blink, frowning. _Another_ crime syndicate? How many more were there?

She sighs, dropping her arms. "I think we lost them, but we should be careful from now on anyway…" She trails off as we both hear footsteps approaching. I duck behind a wall as they get closer…

_Bam!_

I throw my fist out with as much force as I can, and feel a satisfying _crunch_ on the other end. Ha! That'll teach Magma freaks to sneak up on us.

"Um…ow." Steven Stone says mildly, his voice muffled my his hands, which are cupped around his nose.

My mouth tumbles open. "Mr. Stone!" I cry. "I'm so sorry! I thought…you were a Team Magma member."

He smiles lightly. "Quite alright, Allison. You can ah, throw quite a punch."

My face burns. "Er…thanks." I reply awkwardly.

He pulls on his nose a bit before letting go, wiping away a bit of blood. "There, now no one will be the wiser." He smiles at me and Lucy. "What can I do for you?"

His suit is gone, traded for casual exploring clothes. A large backpack is on his back, and an adorable Aron sits obediently at his side, his wide azure eyes curious. I root around in my backpack for a bit. "Here, Devon Corp. wanted me to give this to you." I tell him proudly, handing him the letter.

Steven chuckles, shaking his head. "Sending a girl to deliver it. Of all the lazy…" He takes the letter, opening it in one smooth motion, his teal eyes raking the page, before going wide. He folds it away, tucking it in his back pocket. "Hm. Most disturbing." He murmurs. Lucy frowns. "Mr. Stone?" She asks.

"I'm afraid I must leave immediately, perhaps you'd like to join me?" He arches an eyebrow.

Now let's see. Wander around aimlessly in Granite Cave or leave now with some dashing guy?

That's what I thought.

Grinning, Lucy and I both take a side, as he pulls out an escape rope from his backpack. "Hang on," he instructs, and I close my eyes as we start to spin…

-0-

"Oh!" I cry out with surprise as I go tumbling into the sand, blinded briefly by the bright sun.

Steven smiles kindly as Lucy helps me to my feet. "It can be a bit disorienting at first," he explains. He then excuses himself and vanishes back into the cave. Lucy's voice rings out then, panicked.

"Where is Mr. Briney?"

I roll my eyes, shielding my face with a hand as I peer down to the docks.

"What are you talking about, Lucy? He's right..." my eyes sweep the empty pier.

"Son of a Beedrill," I grumble, taking off down the beach kicking up sand as I went, Lucy close behind. "Where the hell did he go?" I demand. She shakes her head as I round on the dock attendant.

"When did this ship leave?" I ask sharply. The deck hand, and old grizzled seaman gnawing on a toothpick, looks up at me, one of his eyes squeezed shut.

"'Round two o' clock, give or take." He speaks with a heavy accent, one that I can't place.

"It's 2:30," Lucy tells me, glancing at her Pokétch.

I grind my teeth in irritation, swearing as I pace the pier. "Do you know where it was bound?" I ask shortly.

The man shrugs. "One of the lads, the one with a bossy Pidgy, said something about Slateport."

My face twists into a snarl as another oath flies from my lips. "Brewer!" I snap. "Something must have come up, bet you anything this has to do with that package Zac was supposed to deliver..." I think back to his and Roxanne's exchange.

Lucy's head suddenly snaps up as she seizes me by my shoulders. "Allie!" she cries, "Zac was delivering a boat motor!" I frown, not seeing how this had anything to do with anything. "Okay…?" I prompt.

She stares me down. "Who would be interested in something like that?"

I frown at her for a moment, before my eyes light up. "Team Aqua!" I gasp.

I spin back to the deck hand. "We need a boat!" I tell him.

"Please," Lucy adds hastily.

He gives me a long hard look, scratching his neck idly. "No can do," he tells me lazily.

"What do you mean?" I demand, hands on my hips. "This is an island! How do you not have a boat?"

"We typically don't lend out boats to complete strangers," a voice says behind me.

I spin on the spot, whirling to face the Leader of Dewford; Brawly.

Perfect. Just freaking peachy.

"Leader Brawly," I reply respectfully, nodding. The Leader grins.

"Norman's kid, right? Allie?" I nod and he smirks. "No wonder. Norman can get pretty worked up too. You're just a regular spitfire, ain't ya?"

I flush, my hands clenching. A spitfire. Great. What the hell is a spitfire?

"Leader Brawly," Lucy steps forward, claiming his attention instantly as only she can. "We really need a boat. Like, really badly." She flashes a sugar-sweet smile as I inwardly groan.

Yeah, we needed a ship and all, but using Lucy to charm Brawly out of it just seemed wrong.

Don't get me wrong, it totally would have worked. I could see Brawly already reaching for a set of keys that no doubt went with a nice, shiny boat. But the injustice of it all was making my stomach clench. It was like watching a Pokémon labor under the effects of Attract.

"No," I say, stepping forward. Lucy shoots me her patented Allison-Harper-what-the-hell-are-you-doing look while I face Brawly.

"I'll fight you for it.

Crap, crap, crap! Please tell me I did not just basically elect myself to compete in a Gym Match. Crap, crap, crap-

Lucy gives me the evil eye. "You sure that's a good idea, Allie?" She asks in a voice that suggested I should _really_ shut up right about now.

"Yeah," I reply, ignoring her glares. I think back to Roxanne, how she'd tried to _give_ me the Stone Badge. This idea of earning things...it was enough to make me do stupid things like this.

Brawly grins. "Well all right. Sounds good to me."

He turns and saunters back to his Gym.

I give Lucy a weak smile and dash after him.

* * *

**Brawly totally seems like the type who would hand out speed boats to cute girls, am I right?**

**So Allie gets herself into a Gym match. I'm sure that'll go over well. **

**Thanks for all your support guys, it makes me want to keep with this. Take the time to review, if that's your thing.**

**Until next time!**

**-Duchess**


	6. Chapter 6

"Allison! What the hell were you thinking?" Lucy's furious, obviously.

"Um...that I was going to be noble and brave and awesome?" I reply hopefully.

My best friend scowls at me, her astonishing blue eyes narrowed.

"Not funny, Al. _So_ not funny."

We fall silent as we enter the Gym, but soon she's nagging at me again.

"Allie, Brawly is going to _destroy_ you! Then how are we going to get to Slateport, hm?"

I flash her an irritated look. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe we'll swim." I reply tartly. She scowls at me as I step forward to examine the statuette near the door, where certified Trainers get their names carved in.

I swear under my breath, glowering at the name _Ryan Joseph Brewer_. So he _had_ managed to snag the Knuckle Badge before taking off. Figures.

Lucy just sighs, running a hand through her hair. "Look, I trust you and all, but Leaders are tough. Don't let your guard down."

I wave her concern away. "Relax, Luce. I've got a Type advantage with Skyler." My best friend rounds on me.

"Allie, how many challengers come to your dad's Gym a day?" She asks shortly, crossing her arms.

Random question much? "I don't know. Maybe six or seven."

"Ok. And of those six or seven, how many get Badges?"

I groan, seeing where she's taking this.

"Come on, Lucy. It's not like-"

She cuts me off. "How many?"

I glare, but answer anyway. "One. If they're lucky."

"Exactly. Leaders are Leaders for a reason, Al. They didn't just wake up one day and decide to start running a Gym."

"Great. Thanks for that spectacular pep talk. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Gym match to win." And I stride off purposefully to the entrance of what appears to be a maze, where the carefree Leader is standing, a Machop at his feet.

"Heya Spits," he greets me.

"Spits?" I arch an eyebrow.

"Spitfire," he clarifies with a grin.

Oh, right. Allie the Spitfire, which according to Lucy's Pokétch's dictionary meant 'a person with a fiery temper.'

Well, it's not like I could deny it.

"Yeah, great," I tell him, not totally down with my new nickname.

"Usually, challengers have to navigate this maze in the dark to get to me," he explains, gesturing to the maze behind him. "But, you're obviously in a hurry, so we can nix that."

Before I can break out in a touchdown dance at the news that I don't have to spend the next hour plus fumbling around in the pitch-black, he adds. "Also, we'll use one Pokémon each, and no items."

I freeze, my stomach free-falling.

"No...items?" I ask warily.

"Nope," Brawly says cheerfully. "It'll make the match go faster."

Fabulous. Fan-freaking-tastic.

No items. One Pokémon.

I'm dead. I'm _so_ dead. I'm beyond dead. I am _un_dead.

Lucy grabs my arm and starts towing me through the maze, following Brawly and his Machop.

"Still feeling noble, brave and awesome?" she asks caustically.

"Shut up, Reed." I snap at her.

"Am I wrong?" she challenges, turning on me.

"No," I retort, ripping my arm from her grasp. "I'm just sarcastic enough for both of us. No need for you to join in."

-0-

"Machop! Low Kick!"

I watch with narrowed eyes as Brawly's Pokémon dashes forward, before throwing his foot out in a wide arc.

"Dodge it, Sky!" I shout, and she hastily takes to the air, evading the attack.

This has basically been our Gym match. Brawly is going for an all-out offensive, while I'm stuck scrambling on defense. Frankly, I'm too scared to order my Pokémon to attack, anxious at the thought of Skyler being vulnerable like that.

I haven't been battling with the Tailow long enough to know much about her, except that she's apparently prepared to follow my every order.

Problem is, I had no idea what to order.

"Come on, Spits! Are you the daughter of a Gym Leader or what?" I glare.

Correction: I'm not the daughter of a Gym Leader, I'm the daughter of a paranoid, over-protective psycho. Any Pokémon know-how I happen to possess is because of Aden.

_Aden_.

My stomach clenches reflexively at his name, and I hastily derail that particular train of thought. Get it together, Al. Now is not the time to go to pieces.

However, his name does send a wave of red-hot anger shooting through my veins, and I curl my hands into fists.

"Sky! Wing Attack!" I snap. Skyler shoots upwards, flapping her wings like crazy until she works up two small wind funnels, which she sends rocketing towards the Machop with a sturdy flick of her wings.

The Machop takes the hit hard in the chest, but somehow stays on his feet.

"Alright, this is more like it!" Leave it to Brawly to be excited after his Pokémon got attacked. "Machop, Seismic Toss!"

Still recovering from her previous attack, Skyler's caught off guard as the Macop delivers a swift uppercut, sending her spiraling into the air, as rocks fall from the ceiling, sending her crashing down.

"Skyler!" I scream, lurching forward, desperate to help. "Tail...ow." The gutsy Pokémon snarls, climbing to her feet and shaking out her feathers.

"Ugh, hang it there Sky! Quick Attack!" She becomes a blur as she propels herself forward, colliding sharply with the Machop and finally knocking him to the ground, though he climbs swiftly to his feet with a grunt.

Sky's in pretty bad shape, and if I weren't a complete _idiot_ and hadn't agreed to these ridiculous rules, I would have used a potion.

But, I am, so I can't.

Brawly opens his mouth to call out his next attack, when suddenly, the doors to the Leader's room are thrown open and one of the workers comes dashing in.

"Leader Brawly!" She cries anxiously. "Leader Brawly, it's Team Magma!"

Lucy, who's been sitting quietly in the corner, jumps to her feet, Daisy perking up from her nap.

"Magma? What do you mean?" my friends asks, her forehead creased with worry.

The worker shrugs. "I don't know! A whole boat of them just passed by though, they looked like they were heading for Slateport."

Lucy and I lock eyes.

Guess Slateport's just the place to be today.

Brawly frowns, concern lighting his sea-green eyes. "Hm. That's bad news." He recalls his Machop. "Sorry, Spits. We're gonna have to postpone this little shindig."

Oh, that's cool. I wasn't getting my ass kicked or anything.

I follow suit, calling Skyler back. "What are we going to do?" Lucy asks me as Brawly walks out.

I smirk, holding up the keys Brawly left on the bench.

Her eyes widen. "Allie. There is no way—"

I'm already out the door.

-0-

WaveRunners, if you are not aware, are snazzy little boats designed for _speed_.

Not safety.

Having grown up so close to the ocean, I'd ridden them a fair amount of times. So it's not like this was the craziest thing I'd ever done.

Close, but not quite.

"Allison, exactly how many Gym Leaders do you want on your bad side?" Lucy shouts in my ear as we rocket over the water and toward, what I hoped, was Slateport. "Norman's going to _kill_ you when he finds out you went somewhere other than Dewford, Roxanne's pretty much always hated your guts, and now you go and steal Brawly's _WaveRunner_."

"I love how you think I'm actually concerned about any of that," I retort, steering the boat away from a swimmer. "If you want to worry about something, worry about the state Brewer's going to be in when I finally catch up with his stupid, ditching face."

She grumbles something in reply, but I ignore her as Slateport comes into view. In no time, we've pulled up next to none other than Mr. Briney.

"Mr. Briney!" I cry, hopping off the WaveRunner and onto the beach, walking up to the old sailor. "Mr. Briney!"

He glances up, and his face breaks out in a grin. "Why, Allison! How are you?"

"I've been better," I reply tersely. "Listen, can you do me a huge favor and keep an eye on this WaveRunner? Luce and I need to go wring Brewer's neck."

Briney gives a hearty laugh. "Ah, the zest of youth! Of course, go and do whatever needs to be done."

So we dash off, crossing the beach in record time and bursting onto the streets of Slateport.

"Holy Honchkrow!" I shout, pointing. "Look!"

Near the end of the street, a fancy little building sits, and filing into that fancy little building are like, twenty Team Aqua members, blue bandanas and all.

"C'mon!" I grab her hand and run up to the building as the last Aqua member walks in.

"Oceanic Museum," Lucy muses, frowning at the sign. "No wonder this place is crawling with those Aqua people. This place sounds right up their alley."

"Ten bucks says Brewer's up there," I tell her curtly.

She nods. It's a simple calculation, really.

Trouble = Brewer.

All the time. No exceptions.

So we mosey our way in, only to be stopped by a receptionist. "That'll be five dollars, please," she requests in a sugar-sweet voice. Grumbling, I produce the money and walk in.

Lucy's right, this place is chock-full of blue bandanas, and the weird thing is, nobody _cares_. Like it's just another day in the neighborhood, evil crime syndicate and all.

"There's no way they all had the money to get in here," Lucy whispers to me as we walk carefully towards the stairs.

"Luce, they're criminals. I'm pretty sure they don't give a crap." I reply in undertone.

As we mount the stairs, I hear shouting from the upper floor.

"Brewer?" I ask grimly.

She sighs. "Do you even have to ask?"

Together, we run upstairs, taking the steps two at a time.

* * *

**Thanks for all your support guys!**

**I don't know, to me Brawly always seemed...not dumb but just _muscle-headed_. **

**I wonder what sort of trouble Brewer's getting himself into?**

**Leave a review, if that's your thing.**

**Thanks always,**

**Duchess**


	7. Chapter 7

"Gale! Confusion!"

The serious Pokémon places two yellow paws on the side of his head, his eyes closing in concentration. There's a faint ringing noise and suddenly, the Zubat gives a shrill shriek of pain and goes plummeting to the ground.

"Knockout," my rival says with a grin.

"Brewer!" I shout, dashing onto the scene and trying to analyze everything on the fly. A scientist-y guy stands cowering behind Brewer, who is flanked by Zac. Across from the raven-haired boy are two Aqua grunts.

"Damn, this kid's tough!" one snarls, calling back his fainted Zubat.

I try to say something, but Lucy's suddenly caught me by my backpack and is yanking me toward the wall as a familiar head honcho saunters through the door.

"I came to see what was taking so long," Archie growls.

The Aqua grunts immediately look at their shoes.

"Think you're tough, huh?" Archie looks Brewer over casually, as Lucy keeps dragging me backwards. I struggle against her; what if Brewer needs backup? I'm not going to be much help stuck in the shadows.

But before I can shake her off, Archie is speaking again.

"I recognize you. You're the boxer's kid, aren't you?" The Aqua Leader pauses, then turns to his cowering cronies. "That Kanto guy, what was his name?"

"Riley," one mutters, eyes on the floor.

Archie snaps his fingers. "Right! Riley Brewer."

So, yeah. Minor detail. Like I said, Brewer's from Kanto. Saffron City, to be exact. His dad was this hot-shot boxer, the original Gym Leader of the city until some Psychic chick named Sabrina came in and gave him the boot. Having such a sharp type advantage, their fight hadn't been stellar. In fact, if I remember correctly, Brewer's exact words were, "a straight up ass-whooping."

Anyway, Brewer's sorta touchy about the whole thing, and so naturally, gets pissed.

"Got something to say?" he snarls.

I see Zac lay a hand on his arm. "Take it easy, bro. He's just trying to egg you on. Don't do anything stupid."

Ha. Brewer not doing anything stupid. Good one, Zac.

Archie eyes my neighbor as he struggles to restrain Brewer. "Huh, Birch's son. Interesting."

He looks like he's about to say more, but a familiar woman runs in. "Archie!" she says sharply. "Maxie and Tabitha are on their way! We gotta split, and we gotta do it yesterday!"

I glower at Shelly, but Lucy holds me back. "Keep it together," she hisses in my ear. "There's a time and place for everything, and now isn't it!" I turn to frown at her but Archie gives Brewer one last look.

"I'm warning you, kid. Talented or not, you can't take on all of Aqua. Give it up." He tosses his gaze around the room, and Lucy shoves me deeper into the darkness, planting herself in front of me.

The gang leader's gaze sweeps over us and settles back onto Brewer. "And pass that on to Norman's kid too. Especially her. Gym Leader's daughter or not, she messes with our plans and she's gonna face the consequences."

He gives my rival one last stern look and then vanishes down the staircase.

"Oh. My. God!" Lucy shoves me away from her. "Five minutes, Al. Five freaking minutes. You can't sit still and be a good girl for that long? No, you gotta fidget and squirm and be difficult!"

I glower at her, rubbing my arm where she'd clutched it. "Well how was I supposed to know we were going all incognito? What was the deal with hiding in the corner?"

Zac steps up, releasing Brewer, who is checking on Gale. "Honestly Allie. Those Aqua people know how protective Norman is of you. If they somehow got a hold of you, Norman would do anything they asked, no question."

I pull a face. "Awesome. I love being leverage."

"Besides, Norman'll flip when he finds out you're in Dewford, we gotta get you back to Littleroot." He tacks on.

I feel my eyes narrow. "While you do what?"

They all avoid my gaze. Unbelievable. Unbe-freaking-lievable. So they were just gonna ship me back home while they trapeze around the countryside, chasing after bad guys and catching Pokémon without me?

Because that? Not happening.

"So? Birch probably wants to know where you are too." I shoot back.

Zac flashes his Pokégear. "I called him. Told him I was studying the effects the port city has on Pokémon."

I turn on Brewer. "And you? Your mom's probably just as worried."

Brewer gazes back at me calmly. "Called her," he replies easily. "She says she excited for me, and congratulated me on my Badges."

Grumbling, I face Lucy, who smiles weakly. "Come on, Allie." She says anxiously. "You know Mom's been pushing me to travel for a while. She's beside herself."

It's true. Lucy's mom is a huge Coordinator, something Lucy was never really so big on. Her mom, Paula Reed, had practically been _begging_ Lucy to get out and start contesting since she could walk.

"So that's it, huh?" I snap, crossing my arms defiantly. "You think I'm just gonna sit back and watch and let you all drag me back to Littleroot?"

They don't reply, and suddenly the scientist-y guy clears his throat. "Um, excuse me…I hate to interrupt, but I never got to properly thank you for saving me from those Aqua men."

He and Brewer and Zac dissolve into conversation, while I take the moment to slip out. I know Lucy sees me, but she's obviously being smart and giving me some space.

I troop out of the museum and walk back into Slateport. It's nearly noon, and the sun's high in the sky. I absentmindedly unclip Eevee's Pokéball and prepare to toss it when suddenly a flash of brown fur comes flying out of nowhere, leaps into the air and snatches the Pokéball right out of my hand.

I stare after the Zigzagoon as it races off, Eevee's Pokeball between it's teeth.

"Hey!" I shout, taking off after it. "Hey! Come back!"

I follow the Tinyraccoon Pokémon through the city, dashing past the entrance to Cycling Road and skidding to a stop before a house that sat to the west of the grassy path. The Zigzagoon sits on the doorstep, waiting for me.

I approach it cautiously, but it doesn't bolt. It just sits there with Eevee's Pokéball in its mouth, patiently waiting for me to climb onto the doorstep next to it. "What? I demand, frowning down as it wags its tail. "What do you want me to do now?"

Figuring the Zigzagoon must belong to whoever lives here, I reach up to ring the doorbell.

Bad idea.

The second I push down on it, the doorstep we'd been standing on drops open, and we go falling downward.

The fall, though it feels like an eternity, is probably like, three seconds long. I snarl a profanity as I land on a pile of pillows. The Zigzagoon is already on his feet, his tail whapping the floor, the Pokéball still clutched in his mouth.

"What in the world…?" I frown, casting my gaze around the room I'd landed in.

It seems pretty normal, and I probably wouldn't have given it a second glance if I hadn't fallen through a _hole_ in its ceiling. A table sits in the middle, a glass of water resting innocently on its surface. There's a bookcase on the left wall, novels lining its shelves. A fat plant stood next to a large scroll on the opposite side of the room. "Where the hell am I?" I mutter, walking forward.

The scroll is huge, and filled with some sort of ancient text that I can't make heads or tails of. I poke around a bit and discover a hole underneath it, just large enough to crawl through. I pull back the scroll and the Zigzagoon hops through and takes off, and so I hastily scramble after it.

A long hallway stretches out in front of me, so far I can't see any end in sight. I start to get a queasy feeling down in my gut.

I do dangerous and crazy. Not scary.

I draw the line at Halloween; horror isn't really my genre.

But as soon as I turn around, the hole I walked through has been blocked. I shove on it, push it, kick it, swear at it and basically everything but take a hatchet to the damn thing. It ain't budging. The worry seed that was planted in my mind has now blossomed into a full-fledged panic flower as I start forward cautiously.

After a moment, I hear the barking of the Zigzagoon and break out into a run, soon coming upon a large circular room with many hallways branching off from it. The Zigzagoon sits in the center, waiting for me.

"What is this place?" I mutter, looking at all the different hallways, stunned.

"It's the Trick House,"

I spin on the spot, already yanking back my fist when I see a girl leaning against the wall. She has raven hair with a stark red stripe dyed into it, pulled up in a short jagged ponytail. Her eyes are an electric blue, but cold and cruel. A Sneasel sits at her feet, its claws gleaming in the dim light.

"Who are you?" I demand, glaring.

She eyes me, looking aloof and like she could totally kick my ass. "What's it to you?" She asks harshly.

I shrug, bowing out under her ferocious gaze. "Well…I was just curious." I mutter pathetically, staring at her black combat boots. I find myself gazing at the Pokéball at her belt. It's not the traditional type, or even a Great or Ultra ball. Its top is black, while the bottom is red. A crimson 'R' is scrawled on the top half. I'd never seen anything like it.

She sees the object of my fixation and hastily yanks her jacket over it, hiding the mysterious capsule system from view. "Got some kind of problem?" She snaps at me.

"Er…no." I say hurriedly, looking away.

She peers at me. "I know you," she says, frowning. "You're that Leader's kid. Allison Harper."

I glare. "So what if I am?"

She shrugs, unruffled by my attitude. "I don't particularly care either way." She gives me a look. "You don't seem like the type to hang around here though."

I sigh, looking down at the Zigzagoon. "Stupid thing stole my Pokéball, so I followed it in here. After I climbed through the scroll and tried to go back, the way was blocked."

The girl rolls her eyes. "Duh. It's the Trick House. You think the Trick Master would make it that easy?"

I frown. "The Trick Master?"

She shakes her head. "Wow, you are stupid, huh? Yes. The Trick Master. Nobody knows his real name, so don't bother asking. He's obsessed with traps, tricks and all things sketchy. He built this place." She gestures to the circular room.

I peer at her. "So people actually come here?"

She shrugs. "If you're halfway intelligent and like an intellectual challenge, sure. However, you don't seem to fit into either of those categories, so I don't get why you're here."

"Hey!" I protest indignantly. "I'm very intelligent!"

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. My point is, the Trick Master doesn't like to share his secrets, so I was sent to persuade him to share them." Her Sneasel grins wickedly and I gulp.

"Sent? By who?" I press, frowning. "And who cares how he does it? It's creepy."

She gives me an icy look. "Look, I don't have time to fill you in on every aspect of my life, all right?" I ball my fists, giving her a hard look. She wasn't wearing a blue bandana, or a funky little Magma hood, but she just radiated evil. This girl was definitely trouble.

"In any case, I have places to be," she spins on her heel, but soon stops, cocking her head to the side.

I arch an eyebrow, "What's up?" She holds up a hand for silence, as her Sneasel suddenly grows, facing one of the hallways. The Zigzagoon turns as well, growling as viciously as possible around the Pokéball still lodged in his maw.

"C'mon, old man, we haven't got all day, y'know."

I gasp quietly, recognizing the voice instantly from when I'd heard it in Granite Cave. Magma!

Before I can voice my findings, the girl has snatched my arm and yanked me down another hallway, where we peer out from the shadows. Her Sneasel follows her obediently, but the furry bandit Zigzagoon stands growling in the middle of the floor. "Call him over here!" The girl hisses.

I give her an exasperated look. "I told you! He's not mine!" She looks like she wants to argue, but stops short as the voices get louder.

As expected, two hilariously-dressed Magma grunts burst onto the scene, holding a struggling man between them. "Can't we just knock him out?" One grumbles to his female partner.

The girl scowls up at him from under a curtain of dark hair. "No! Tabitha said to bring him completely unharmed."

The boy glowers, miffed. "Tabitha this, Tabitha that. Is that hot head the only reason you joined up?"

The girl throws him a snarky look. "Oh, and like you don't have the hots for Courtney? Please. I've seen how you stare at her."

The boy opens his mouth to respond, but the man between them just groans. "If it means I don't have to listen to your mindless babble, by all means, knock me out! Honestly, if stupidity was a crime, you would be public enemies number one and two."

The Magma grunts exchange some eyebrow traffic.

"Hey, Kelly, we gotta take that from some old guy?" The boy asks his companion.

Kelly frowns. "I dunno Chris."

I take the pause to make my dramatic entrance, ready to go toe-to-toe with these clowns.

Or, I would have, if the girl hadn't seized me by my backpack, pointing to the Zigzagoon, who was approaching the grunts slowly, growling as ferociously as the fifteen pound pup of a Pokémon could.

Honestly, it probably just made him look more adorable.

"Hey, a Zigzagoon!" Kelly says brightly, peering down at the kleptomaniac. "What's up, little guy?"

"Easy, Kelly," her partner cautions. "That thing looks pissed."

"Oh, come on Chris. It's a Zigzagoon. What's it gonna do? _Growl_ me to death?"

Chris gives the Zigzagoon a hard look. "Why's it got a Pokéball in its mouth?" He asks warily. Kelly frowns, bending down to examine the capsule system lodged in its mouth.

My hands curl into fists. Touch my Eevee's Pokéball and it'll be the last thing you ever touch.

Fast as thought, the Zigzagoon spits out the Pokéball and it nails the grunt right in the schnoz. "Hey!" She protests, releasing the old guy to throw her hands over her face.

"Kelly!" Chris calls, also loosening his hold on the man to assist his partner.

The second he was free the old man shoves Chris away, who in turn topples into Kelly and they go fumbling onto the floor, a tangle of limbs and silly costumes. "Later kiddies! Tell Maxie I say hello!" The old man, who suddenly looks a lot less old and a lot more crazy, scoops up the Zigzagoon, snatches up Eevee's Pokeball and takes off down the nearest hallway.

"Eevee!" I shout, taking off after him.

I hear a flurry of swears and assume the girl and her Sneasel are following, and a few seconds later I hear the sounds of the two Magma grunts as they too dash after us.

Well, let the chase begin.

-0-

"Where could she have gone?" Lucy wails.

Zac bites his lip anxiously. "I mean…it's not like she could have gotten past Route 110…"

He trails off as Brewer snaps furiously; "It's _Allie!_ For God's sake she could be halfway to Lavaridge by now!"

The three friends stand outside the Oceanic Museum, trying to decide their next move. Ace paces anxiously around his master's ankles while Daisy stretches out in the sun, looking bored.

"Maybe…maybe she went to the Contest Hall?" Zac offers tentatively.

Brewer shakes his head sharply. "No way, Allie hates Contests."

"Reverse Psychology?" Lucy suggests with a hopeful look. "Maybe that's what she wants us to think."

Brewer throws his hands in the air. "Come on! This is _Allie_ we're talking about! She doesn't put that much effort into her homework, let alone impromptu escape plans. Besides, she doesn't think that far ahead."

They glance up as the doors of the nearby Poké Center slide open, and Brawley walks out, whistling. "Brawley?" Lucy cries, shocked. The Gym Leader wanders over as Lucy gets more and more panicked.

"Hey gang, what's up?" The cheerful Leaders asks casually, glancing around.

"Er…Leader Brawly," Lucy says weakly, smiling slightly. "How…exactly…did you get here?"

The Leader laughs good-naturedly. "What, you mean since you and Spits stole my WaveRunner?" He chuckles at her horrified expression. "Eh, it's no big deal. I'll still whoop her for it, but I gotta respect her. Stealing from a Leader?" He snickers. "Girl's got more balls than a Machamp."

"Er, yeah." Zac says, hastily changing topics. "What're you doing here, Leader Brawly?"

The Leader looks troubled. "Well, I was told Magma had infiltrated the museum, but when I got here, the place was deserted. I guess some kind of scuffle had gone on between Aqua and Magma, but Aqua escaped. Then, before I can figure _that_ out, _Winona_ of all people comes over, all hissy and whatever, and starts yapping about some chick named Samantha de Luca and her Sneasel and how Magma's after the Trick Master. She starts ranting about how I have to "earn my place as a Leader" and figure out what they're up to." The laid-back Leader runs a hand through his spiky hair. "I'm like, man, I live on a freaking _island!_ How the hell am I supposed to know what they want?"

Brewer slaps a hand to his forehead. "The Trick House!" He cries. "Of course she'd wander there!"

Brawly frowns. "Samatha de Luca?"

Brewer scowls. "No! Allie!"

Zac looks lost in thought. "de Luca…" he muses quietly. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Brewer seizes him by his shoulders, shaking the researcher. "Here's a name that should sound familiar; _Allison Harper_. Ring a bell? She's your neighbor and is currently trapped in a Trick House! Let's go!"

Zac shakes his head to clear it. "You're right, let's go."

The three Trainers plus one seriously confused Gym Leader take off, running out of Slateport.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, dear readers. Hope you're enjoying it.**

**The Trick House was seriously the best thing in the R/S/E games (besides Absols) and I was honestly so upset when he stopped making puzzles at the end of the game. Like, Trick Master, let's be real. You've got nothing else to do with your time.**

**Review if you've got a moment to spare and want to make me fangirl squeal in the middle of class when I check my email.**

**-Duchess**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! So FanFiction is a website very near and dear to my heart. If I'm being totally honest with you, which I always strive to be, I'll be truthful and say I have virtually zero confidence in my original work, so I look at a website like this and see it as a wonderful way to improve your own writing without the fear of someone criticizing the core ideas of it.**

**That being said, the one thing that sort of bothers me is there's no good way to communicate with your audience. Sure, you can leave little blurbs at the end like I've been doing, but that's really impersonal considering the reader has taken time to sit down and take a look at what you've put together.**

**This really came to mind when Alphinia left a review that was so long and well thought-out I was practically drooling over my laptop. I don't know if this will become regular or not, I suppose that will depend on how many reviews I get, but I'm going to reply individually to the reviews left by you lovely people just so you know I really do take everything you say into serious consideration. What kind of writer would I be if I just blew off my audience?**

**Here goes:**

**corinne444:** I'm glad you find my fic original and you like Allie's voice. And I agree, sometimes her attitude does get away from me. Honestly, sometimes I get a little out of control with my witty lines, not realizing that no one would actually say that haha. Mudkip is my favorite as well, I'm a big water-type person myself (with the exclusion of Charmander). And thanks for the tip on making the speaker clearer!

**Y-ko:** I doubt you've stuck around to see this, but I'll reply anyway. I agree, sometimes my characters sound really, _really_ weird and far too unrealistic. They're at their worst in the first chapter, which is unfortunately the only one I think you read. However, writing, especially on a site like this, is all about first impressions and it would be stupid of me to sit here and gripe about you not giving my story a chance. If you didn't like it you didn't like it and I respect that. You did make me give my dialogue more thought, so thanks for that!

**Nico-Maeglin:** I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm flattered you count it amongst one of the best. Here's hoping I can earn that compliment.

**mariposablossom:** Yay, an original fan! I'm so glad your back and hope my improvements are enough to make your time worthwhile. I'm so glad you like my characters, they're my pride and joy in this fic! P.S. love your icon, Tim Drake FTW.

**Alphinia:** First off, thank you a thousand times over for putting the kind of thought you did into your review, I'll try to hit on all the points you did, starting with characters. I'm glad you're a fan of Zac, because personally I like him the best as well. Allie's voice can be fun to write, but there's something really funny in my mind about paring Allie's crazy outbursts with Zac's calm and confident replies. I'm glad you also made a note of the cannon characters, as those are always tricky. You want to stick to what's cannon, but also want to make them interesting and I'm glad you like them. And I'm glad you enjoy Allie so much, it'd be terrible if I missed the mark on the main character! Your points on punctuation and capitalization are of course very accurate and I'll have to make it a point to fix those. I can say from experience as a reader there's nothing quite as distracting as a grammar mistake, especially if it's repetitive.

The point you bring up about Allie's knowledge is very accurate. I guess the reason I did it like that was because as a player physically playing the game; we don't know who Steven is either. Of course, Allie is supposed to be from Hoenn, so she _should_ know things like that. I'd like to say I have some grand scheme behind that knowledge flaw, but all I can honestly say is that it just felt right when I wrote it as if she had no clue who he was. You're right: it _is_ illogical. But I guess I can just play it off as Allie's typical cluelessness. As for Lucy's overreactions...yeah. You're right on the money again haha. She is a drama queen. Totally. And in some places I probably play that up far too much. I do appreciate you bringing it to my attention though, and I'll be more thoughtful of that. Sorry if you're getting frustrated with Aden. I'm honestly a little nervous now that you say you trust the way I'm drawing his secrecy out. I _do_ have a reason for him being so mysterious, and I hope I live up to your expectations!

As for your last point, that one probably made me sit down and think the most. It seriously never occurred to me that my chapters were so plot-heavy. Of course, now that I look over them, it's pretty obvious that I've been working my poor characters to death. I never considered a sort of "down chapter" like you described, but I'm really warming up to the idea. Unfortunately, I have three more chapters from the original that I need to get out before I can write anything genuinely new. And unfortunately, those next three chapters are really, really plot-based. I hope you'll enjoy them despite that, and I'll for sure be taking some time to make some more relaxed chapters.

**Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Now on with the story!**

* * *

My idea of _not fun_ goes something like this:

Chasing around some guy who is looking a lot less old and a lot more dangerously unbalanced around some creepy, constantly-changing placed dubbed the "Trick House."

In case I haven't made this clear enough, I'm not a fan of creepy. And as far as I was concerned, some little house that had a sprawling labyrinth under it definitely qualified as such.

Oh, and who could forget the jerk with the dyed hair and her stupid, smug little Sneasel? She was running after me too, and of course, she had to be some kind of like, Pokéthon champ, because the chick was gaining on me like lightning.

And, because that's clearly not enough, there were two notorious gang members on my tail. Granted, they weren't the brightest of gang members, but were gang members all the same, and I really did not prefer to have them chasing after me through the aforementioned creepy house.

And why, might you ask, am I doing these things?

Because some freaking Zigzagoon Poké-napped my Eevee. That's why.

Honestly, I was more scared than I ever wanted to admit. This was the first time I'd ever been separated from the pint-sized Pokémon, and I hated it.

She'd been a gift to me on my seventh birthday from my parents, way back before Aden had…

I swallow hard, chiding myself for even thinking about it. Thinking about Aden did funny things to my head; made me angry and rash.

Like I wasn't angry and rash enough on my own.

So instead, I turn back to my previous predicament, dodging and weaving various traps and snares as I run through a creepy trick house with some pretty pissed-off peeps right behind me.

Suddenly, giving my friends the slip didn't seem like such a good idea.

I jump suddenly, vaulting over a hole that has abruptly appeared. See, all along the walls of this crazy maze were little switches and knobs that activated all sorts of fun little tricks. Things like floors suddenly giving way beneath you, hallways suddenly getting dramatically narrower and spikes popping up at the most inopportune times.

The only problem was, the Trick Master was the only one who knew which switch did what, and I was a bit preoccupied with chasing him, so it's not like I could stop and examine them as I flew past; I could only try to dodge whatever he set off.

It was around that time I hear the girl behind me snap, "Sasha! Screech!"

Before I can register the meaning behind her command, her Sneasel lets loose an awful, ear-splitting wail that made my ears ache and my bones tremble.

So, naturally, I stumble and fall face-first into hole that has just appeared.

I desperately stick out my hands to try and break my fall, and it works—my face remains un-smashed, but my wrist makes an alarming cracking noise I'm fairly sure it's not supposed to as it bends at a rather unusual angle.

Translation? _Owwwww!_

I quickly climb to my feet, throwing a quick look to the ceiling just in time to see two costume-clad people tumble down as well, and I hastily scramble out of the way as the inept Magma grunts fall unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Chris! Get off of me!" Kelly hisses from beneath her partner.

"Alright, alright!" he growls, scrambling up.

I watch dubiously as Kelly stands in one fluid motion, throwing back her hood to reveal a head full of thick, dark hair.

Chris jumps, alarmed. "Kelly! Removing your hood is against the rules!"

She rolls her eyes, flicking him in the nose. "Oh, shove it, Chris. No one's here to tell me not too. Besides, that thing is ugly and hard to walk in!" And she tugs the whole ensemble off, standing in a black miniskirt, knee-high boots and a crimson T-shirt.

She frowns down at me, as I sit there pathetically, holding my useless arm to my chest. "What happened to you?" she asks.

I scowl, "Fell through the hole in ceiling. Broke my wrist. How 'bout you?"

She shrugs, "Same, I guess. That stupid Sneasel's Screech made us slip up."

I nod, "Yeah, that girl with the red streak probably wanted that. She seemed pretty bent on getting to the Trick Master."

"Don't you know her?" Kelly tilts her head in confusion, "She's Samantha de Luca."

"Kelly!" Chris protests, "That's classified Magma information!"

She arches an eyebrow at him, cocking a hip. "Yeah? Guess what? I just _un_classified it," she holds out a hand to me, and I shake it, stunned. "We need to get out of here," she tells me, ignoring Chris's flabbergasted look.

I shrug, "Love to, but how? The only way to go is up, and my Tailow can't carry us all."

"Maybe you could send it out, get a message?" she suggests, tapping her cheek in thought.

Skepticism narrows my eyes. "And I trust you because?"

She meets my gaze evenly. "Because you have no other choice," comes her reply, dry as the desert.

Fair enough; I unclip Skyler's Pokéball, and she appears in a flash of white light, looking up at me. "Sky, fly out of here and see if you can find a way out. If you do, find the first person you can and give them this." I hold out my Trainer Card and she takes it in her beak. "Then try and lead them back here. Can you do that?" To my relief, her beady eyes glitter with understanding and she gives one short nod before snapping out her wings and flying up out of the hole.

"Great. Now what?" I ask.

Kelly sighs, leaning against the wall. "Now we wait."

Perfect. Waiting in the basement of a Trick House with two members of a notorious gang, with only one of my original three Pokémon.

My favorite.

-0-

The Umbreon watches as the Tailow soars out of a window from the house across from him, a flat plastic card in its beak.

He flicks his amber eyes up to his master, who shakes his head. "Not yet. She'll figure her way out of this one."

The Umbreon looks at him with an expression that could only be described as dubious. His reply was obvious; _seriously?_

The Trainer chuckles, turning away. "Don't worry, if Allie's as good at getting herself _out_ of trouble as she is getting herself into it, she'll be fine."

The Umbreon growls quietly, looking back to the house, and his master's smile pulls down to a frown. "Mm. Samatha de Luca will have to be dealt with, but not yet. Patience is key. We'll teach her a lesson eventually."

They both watch as the Tailow swoops down in front of a group of Trainers and Dewford's Leader, Brawly. "Huh, a spoiled coordinator, and hard-headed Kanto native, a no-nonsesne researcher and a clueless Gym Leader," his sea-green eyes narrow. "Not my ideal rescue team, but it'll have to do…" he trails off as the group runs towards the house.

He then turns his back on the Trick House, popping the collar of his jacket. "Follow them," he orders his Pokémon. "They'll need help. I can feel it." The Umbreon nods and lopes off after the group, the shadows of the receding sun seeming to bend towards the Moonlight Pokémon.

The Trainer casts one final look over his shoulder at the Trick House. "C'mon Al," he mutters to himself, frowning. "I taught you better than this, didn't I?"

And he walks back to Slateport, passing through throngs of challengers.

Not one of them approaches him to battle.

-0-

"Well, this could prove to be a problem."

Lucy scowls at Brewer, her icy blue eyes narrowed. "Oh, have time for jokes now, do we?" she demands sharply.

Brewer rolls his eyes. "Cool it, Reed. I'm not even joking. You think you can get us through that window?"

Zac groans, pushing himself between the two. "Would you guys relax? Just because Allie's gone doesn't mean you two have to pick up her sarcasm." The three friends stare up at the window Skyler's settled into—a good thirty feet up the side of the Trick House.

"Well we're going to have to get up somehow." Lucy mutters, frowning.

"Climbing's out of the question," Zac muses, his hazel eyes gauging distances. "It's way too high, and there's no handholds."

Brewer looks troubled. "Yeah, and I don't even think all of our flying Pokémon combined are even enough to carry one of us."

The Trainers huddle together in thought before there's an almighty crash, making them jump. Lucy cries out in surprise, "What was that?" she yelps, spinning on her heel to see a large dust cloud.

The debris settles and Brawly stands with a crooked grin, his Machop at his feet and a ragged hole in the side of the Trick House. "You guys need a way in?"

-0-

"I wonder what's taking so long," I mutter, chewing on my lip.

Kelly waves away my concern, "Relax. Slateport's one of the biggest cities in Hoenn. Your Tailow's bound to run into someone."

I frown at her. "Can I ask you a potentially awkward question?"

She blinks, surprised. "Er, sure. Go ahead."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

The Magma grunt seems unsurprised by my blunt and rude inquiry. "Just because I work for Magma doesn't make me a horrible person, does it?" She asks, giving me a wry smile.

I pull a face. "Um, is that a rhetorical question? Because if you're asking for my opinion, then you're wrong. Working for Magma basically makes you a huge loser and a first-rate jerk."

Kelly just shrugs, "Look at Samantha de Luca. She's not Magma or Aqua, but she's a jerk."

I nod slowly, allowing this valid point. "Whatever. Isn't this against like, your Magma rules or something?"

"Yes," Chris sulks from the corner he's been pouting in since Kelly and I buddied up.

Kelly offers a half-smile, ignoring her partner. "Yeah. Guess I'm a pretty sucky Magma, huh?"

I open my mouth to reply, when there's a loud crash. The entire building shakes precariously, and Kelly and I scramble to our feet. "Holy Honchkrow!" I gasp, steadying myself. "What was that?"

Chris is on his feet too, looking alarmed. "Sounds like someone's trying to knock this place down!"

The pounding gets louder as it seems to approach us, the walls shaking with every second. "It's getting closer…" Kelly warns, as the three of us press ourselves against the wall, facing the oncoming noise.

"What'd you reckon?" Chris asks. "An Onix?"

I shake my head. "No, they're not native to Hoenn."

"Golem?" he tries, raising his voice above the noise.

"Can't be, they're not big enough." I call back as the ground begins to shake.

"Gyarados?" he shouts desperately.

Kelly and I both shoot him _what the hell do you think?_ looks, and he falls silent. "Yeah, guess not."

"Whatever it is, it's here!" Kelly cries, and we all brace ourselves as the stone wall erupts open, showering us with debris.

My mouth falls open in shock. "Brawly?"

The Leader grins, jumping out of the hole his Machop created. "Howdy do, Spits." I stare as Lucy, Zac and Brewer crawl out after him. Brewer flashes a grin at me. "Someone need a dashing hero to rescue them?"

I place a hand on my hip, grinning. "Yeah, a dashing hero'd be nice, but you'll do."

-0-

"Come on, Sasha, we're so close!"

The Sneasel slows, whipping her head around to face a threat from behind. A feral snarl rips up the throat of the Sharp Claw Pokémon as she assumes a defensive posture before her master, her claws extended.

Samantha de Luca finally stops, turning around and stifling a gasp. "Impossible…" She whispers, as the Umbreon approaches. "They told me he wouldn't interfere…"

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. "Whatever. It can't be helped. Sasha! Slash!" The Sneasel leaps into action, slicing out with a razor sharp claw, only to hit empty air as the Umbreon gently sidesteps, evading her attack.

Samantha grits her teeth. "Fine. Wanna play hard to get? Faint Attack!" The room becomes dark as the Sneasel slips into the blackness, drifting behind the Umbreon. But before she can strike, the Moonlight Pokémon turns sharply to face the oncoming Sneasel and snaps its jaws around the Pokémon, throwing it against the wall.

The Sneasel hits the wall sharply and falls to the floor, unmoving. "Sasha!" Samantha cries, running forward. She kneels at her KO'd Pokémon's side, glaring up at the Umbreon. "Alright! I get it, the Trick Master is off-limits. Go back to your master, you freakishly well-trained Pokémon!"

The Umbreon strides past her, galloping off after the still-fleeing Trick Master, leaving Samantha de Luca to call her Sneasel back in her specially modified Rocket Ball and cast one more furious look over her shoulder before taking off.

She'd promised she wouldn't harm the Trick Master, but she didn't say anything about his precious Allison Harper.

-0-

"…and after we saw Skyler, we knew you had to be at the Trick House." Zac finishes.

I frown. "Samantha de Luca. Who is she?" I look at Kelly, who opens her mouth to reply, but Chris grabs her arm.

"No! I'm not letting you give up any more of Magma's secrets!" And he drags her out of the hole, back outside.

Lucy watches them go, looking thrown. "Who were they?"

"Magma grunts. Really weird Magma grunts." I answer as Brewer helps me to my feet.

"Forget them. We gotta get you to a Pokécenter to get your wrist checked out." He insists, trying to pull me out the door.

I shake my head, pulling away. "We can't! The Trick Master still has my Eevee!"

Zac looks puzzled. "How in the hell did he get your Eevee?" I sigh, crossing my arms. "A Zigzagoon stole it, alright? Now come on, we have to get to the Trick Master!"

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, a rope falls from the hole I'd fallen through. I look up to see the furry face of the Zigzagoon, Eevee's Pokéball miraculously still in his mouth. "There!" I take hold of the rope and began climbing.

Eventually, the five of us, me, Zac, Brewer, Lucy and Brawly make it to the top, where the old man from before is waiting.

Zac inclines his head respectfully. "Trick Master," he says politely. The Trick Master grins, and I finally get my first good look at him. He's pretty old, with a mop of crazy white hair, crooked teeth and bushy white eyebrows. His eyes are enormous, magnified behind ridiculously large glasses. He wears suspenders and a holey T-Shirt.

I clench my good fist. "What's the big idea, huh? Sending me down that hole? And why'd you have your Zigzagoon steal my Eevee?"

The Trick Master grins lopsidedly at me. "A mistake, my dear. It was all a mistake. I thought you were Samantha de Luca."

I growl a profanity. "Who is this Samantha de Luca? And what does she want?"

The Trick Master just reaches down, taking Eevee's Pokeball from the Zigzagoon and handing it to me. I hastily attach it to my belt as the Trick Master sighs. "I know a lot of things, but Samantha de Luca's intentions are hard to see. Sometimes it appears as though she's part of an organization, other times she seems to operate independently. I told my Zigzagoon to try and delay her arrival, but he mistook you for her, and I'm sorry for that."

"She said she wanted you to tell her your secrets," I remember. "Like how you built the Trick House."

The Trick Master smiles sadly. "Aye, and she wouldn't be the first. But, unfortunately now is not the time to discuss it. Even now, Maxie and Archie are on their way to try and stop you and your friends. I would suggest moving onto Mauville. The Leader there will be of much help to you."

I sigh, before turning to my friends. "Come on, guys. Let's go." And we troop out of the Trick House.

-0-

The Umbreon and his master appear a second later. "You sent them to Mauville?" The Trainer asks angrily.

The Trick Master waves away his hostility. "Relax, she was heading there anyway. Besides, Wattson will take good care of her." The Trick Master regards the young man curiously. "Speaking of taking care of people, how long are you intending to keep yourself hidden? No doubt she's wondering about you."

The Trainer rolls his sea-green eyes, turning away. "Allie's waited four years. A few more weeks won't kill her."

* * *

**Well that chapter did not want to be written.**

**Sorry if you didn't like the way the Trick House panned out. I'm not exactly a fan of it either but oh well. I've been fooling around with it for a while and it's stubbornly digging its heels in the ground and isn't budging for anything.**

**So again, apologies if it seemed a bit off. I'll work extra hard on the next one.**

**For anyone wondering about this Umbreon and Aden that keep cropping up, they'll be explained more later.**

**Again, thank you so much for reading. You guys are the reason Allie can have an adventure at all.**

**-Duchess**


	9. Chapter 9

"So, Al. Think you can actually beat this Gym Leader?"

I scowl up at my friend, my eyes cold. "Hilarious, Brew Crew. Really. You're an absolute riot."

Lucy laughs breezily, slinging her arms around my and Brewer's shoulders and hugging the three of us together. "Lighten up you two," she scolds, smirking.

Zac grins slyly at Brewer, walking up beside my mouthy rival. "Besides, I'd be careful, Brewer. With Neptune, Allie's got a pretty even type advantage. He knows Mud Slap."

Brewer just smirks, unperturbed. "Yeah, she did last time too, and look how well that went."

I pull away from Lucy's hug to look him full in the face. "Um, if you recall _correctly_, the only reason I lost was because I was chasing after you!" I snap.

Eevee barks to highlight my point and I smile down at the pint-sized Pokémon. It felt so good to have her back. The four of us had parted ways with Brawly, who apparently was off to Fortree City to report to Winona. We had decided to stay the night in Slateport's Pokécenter (politely declining the Trick Master's offer to crash at his place, if I never saw that creepy place again it would be too soon.)

Brewer had wanted to sleep in the Contest Hall, but Lucy wasn't going anywhere near that place, so to the Pokécenter we went. We had also gotten a cast for my wrist, which I had tried to refuse to wear.

Key word being _tried_.

Note to self: next time you go off on a Pokémon adventure, leave your genius, medical-examiner-certified, know-it-all neighbor at home. I swear that kid knew more about medicine than the local Nurse Joy, who had nearly let me go with just a small brace, before stupid Birch had piped up and opened his fat, research mouth.

In any case, Zac had insisted that if I didn't wear the cast, my wrist wouldn't set properly and I'd have to re-break it blah, blah, blah. Insert more medical hoopla here.

It was annoying, hot, and impossible to itch. End of story.

On the plus side, it was also, heavy, rock-hard and _perfect_ for smacking Brewer upside the head with. Which I had wanted to do ever since we'd entered Mauville because he had insisted on reminding me that he had two shiny, pretty badges, while I still had a fat zero.

But I digress.

Lucy frowns, slowing our walk. "Doesn't that look like…Wally Miller?"

"Huh?" I blink, stopping and following her gaze to a small boy standing at the doors of the Mauville Gym. "I think it is…" I mutter, before taking off. "Wally! Hey, Wally!"

The small boy turns and grinns, while a tall man at his side faced us as well, looking slightly harassed.

"Allie!" his turquoise eyes shone in the morning light. "Hi!"

I grin, loving his never-dying enthusiasm. "Heya, Wally. How's it hanging, kid?"

He frowns suddenly, looking troubled. But before I could question his sudden depression, his eyes light up again. "Allie, you're a good Trainer, right?"

I hesitate, unsure where he's going with this. "Er, sure Wally. I'm…I'm pretty okay."

Wally beams up at me. "I wanna challenge the Gym here, but my uncle doesn't think I'm strong enough. Can I battle you and show him how strong Ralts and I have become?"

I feel my stomach drop to my shoes. _Battling Wally_ had never really been high on my To-Do list. It was stuck somewhere behind _Get a Badge_ and _Beat the Crap out of Brewer._

I eye the man Wally identified as his uncle, silently begging him to get me out of this situation. I don't want to battle Wally, but he looks so _excited_.

His uncle clears his throat, stepping forward. "Now, Wally. Allison probably has things to do, you don't want to hold her up, do you?"

Wally's shoulders slump. "Yeah, I guess so," he mutters, dejected.

Then Brewer steps forward and says something I'll never forgive him for.

"I'll battle you, Wally."

I'm spin on him, my eyes flaring. "Um, _no_," I snap. "You won't."

Brewer raises his eyebrows. "Um, _yes_," he replies. "I think I will."

I flash a sugar-sweet smile at Wally and his uncle. "Excuse us for a moment," I say politely, dragging Brewer over to the nearby Pokécenter.

"Look," I snarl. "Wally's just starting out, okay? He needs _confidence_. Not some jerk like you coming in and one hit KO'ing his precious Ralts!"

Brewer meets my gaze evenly. "If he wants to battle, let him." My rival shrugs, "So he loses. He learns his lesson and moves on."

I glare. "You just don't get it, do you? Wally's not a regular Trainer, Brewer. He's a seriously ill kid with about a million things wrong with him who can't walk six feet without—"

"A first aid kit and a freaking Chansey," he finishes, and I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me as I hear my old line in his voice.

"You know Al, for someone who hates being sheltered like you, you sure like to shelter others." And he pushes me away gently but firmly, strolling back to where the others were.

Stunned, I simply walk past them. "Allie?" Lucy calls anxiously. I ignore her, lost in my own thoughts.

I can't bring myself to watch Wally and Brewer's battle. I know my rival well enough, with Ace's Dark-Type move, Bite, he'd OHKO that Ralts for sure. How could he do that?

Just because Wally _wants_ to battle, doesn't mean that's what's best for him. And what kind of lesson could you learn from an upset like that?

Brewer was wrong. Just because Wally _could_ be beaten didn't mean he _should_.

"Allie! Wait up!"

I turn as Zac runs after me. "Oh, howdy do Zac Attack," I greet him miserably.

He sighs, doubling over to catch his breath. Eventually he straightens, looking around Route 117. "I was just going to visit the Day-Care Center," he says, gesturing to the building to our left.

I shrug and he frowns at my unhappy expression. "C'mon, Al," he says gently, touching my cheek. "You know how Brewer is. The kid's a loose cannon, and with you standing here in comparison, that's saying something."

I smile softly at his joke, rolling my eyes good-naturedly as Zac continues. "Ever since Brewer's dad got the boot way back in Kanto, he's been out to prove something. Besides that, the kid's just plain tough. And the problem is, he _knows_ it." He examines my downcast face carefully, "Any win is a win to him, whether it's from the Champion of all Hoenn or a measly little boy with a hole in his heart and a Ralts."

I sigh, crossing my arms and looking around again. This Route has a quaint feel, something I can't place, but I love. I wouldn't mind coming back here.

Then I turn Zac again, letting my shoulder rise and fall in a sort of half-shrug. "I know, I know, Brewer's a power-hungry jerk with no limits. I get it."

Zac grins, "Now there's the Allison Harper we know and love." He turns towards the Day-Care before regarding me over my shoulder. "You know what would shut him up, right Al?" I bite my lip, my eyes flaring.

"A Gym Badge," I reply.

-0-

"Neptune! Water Gun!"

My Mudkip puffs up before spurting out a sharp burst of water right in the Doduo's face. The Doduo cries out and keels over.

Knockout.

"Oh dear, Dodou, return." The jogger guy calls, aiming his Pokéball at his fainted Pokémon. "Wow, kid. You're pretty tough," he tells me as I scoop up my Pokémon.

"Thanks, I'm training for a Gym Match," I reply.

He arches an eyebrow, rubbing his chin. "A Gym Match, huh? Against our Wattson?" I nod and he looks thoughtful. "Well, if you wanted a real challenge of course, you could battle the Winstrates."

I frown, peering at him, "The who?"

"Winstrates," he replies. "They live northwest of Mauville. It'd be a good way to toughen your Pokémon." I thank him and walk off, still holding Neptune who clambers onto my head and perches there like some kind of scout.

"Winstrates, huh?" I roll my eyes upward, looking at my cheerful clown of a Pokémon. "What'd you think, Neptune? Should we go for it?"

Zac walks up beside me then, and I flash him a grin while he ducks to avoid Neptune's typical greeting which consists of a good-natured mud slap. "Heya Zac. What's up?"

Zac shrugs, straightening and pulling on his backpack. "Nothing you'd care about. Just some data for Dad."

I notice he has Sheldon his Shieldon out, and I kneel down to pat the Pokémon on his rock-hard head. "Hey there, buddy. How're you doing?"

Just for the record, I find Shieldons absolutely adorable, and Sheldon gave a low rumble in his native tongue, looking up at me with his onyx gaze. Sheldon had been Zac's very first Pokémon, resurrected from a fossil way over in the Sinnoh region. "I caught the end of your conversation," the researcher says as we continue towards Mauville. "I think battling the Winstrates would be great experience."

I'm about to reply when we're suddenly joined by Lucy and Brewer. I cast a look of absolute death at the latter, who is pointedly ignoring me. "We were thinking about challenging the Winstrates," Zac explains. "You two game?"

"Sure," Lucy agrees, while Brewer nods.

I shoot him a poisonous look. "Oh, you actually want a challenge this time?" I snap at him. "Done with battling ten year-olds for the moment?" He rolls his eyes and strides off towards the north road of Mauville.

"Oh? Excuse me!"

We turn, seeing a young woman approaching us. She's older than us, maybe in her early twenties. She's really pretty, wrapped in a gorgeous but impractical white gown that seemed a bit too formal considering we were in the middle of town. Her attire reminds me distinctly of gypsy-like, and I note the numerous gems that adorn her arms, fingers and neck.

I wait for Zac to speak up, as he knows _everyone_, but the researcher stays silent, and I toss a glance over at him to see him assessing the brunette with his intelligent hazel eyes. So I shrug, stepping forward and offering a brief wave.

"Hey, can we help you?" I ask, grimacing slightly as Neptune steps on my face, trying to get as close as he can to inspect the stranger. I pluck him off my head, setting him on the ground.

The woman smiles kindly. "I hate to trouble you, but I was wondering if I could get your help?" Lucy nods, stepping up beside me. "Sure, what can we help you with, ma'am?"

She smiles, waving Lucy's formality away. Something on her wrist flashes and I see her silver bracelet is set not with gemstones but...

"Sun shards?" Brewer murmurs, peering hard at the trinket.

The woman smiles, shaking her wrist and jangling the bracelet so it catches the light, "Quite an eye you have," she says grinning wryly. "Yes, these are sun shards."

"Those are hard to come by in Hoenn," Zac says slowly, his tone polite but guarded.

Lucy scowls, "Don't be rude," she hisses, shooting the researcher an annoyed look.

The woman smiles again, though I notice she doesn't make a move to defend herself against Zac's subtle allusion.

"My name's Britta Dysart," she says. "I have a booth tonight at the carnival."

I frown, "Carnival?"

She tilts her head, "Don't you know? Mauville's famous for its annual Summer Solstice Carnival."

No, I _didn't_ know that, actually. In fact, I wasn't even one-hundred percent sure what the Summer Solstice _was._

She laughs a bit at our hesitation, "Come on, surely you noticed the decorations?" She waves a hand at the strings of flags crisscrossing the streets, and decorative lamps that hung in storefronts.

I shrug, rubbing my arm. "I mean, I guess I just thought Mauville was like...festive." I say lamely.

Lucy speaks up, "We'd still be happy to help you," she says politely.

She flashes a smile. "Great, my stuff's over in Verdanturf, come on!"

She turns to leave, and immediately I feel a presence at my shoulder.

"I don't like this," Zac hisses in my ear.

"Would you knock it off?" I reply in undertone, twisting to glare at him as the four of us follow her through the city. "She's just a girl in a dress who needs a bit of a helping hand. Calm down."

"I'm with Zac on this one," Brewer's in my other ear, placing a light hand on my shoulder to help steer me around a group of kids playing. "Something's off about her, Al."

"When did I suddenly become the non-paranoid one?" I demand of no one in particular, rolling my eyes as we continue.

"Sorry Al," Lucy now, leaning around Zac to throw me an apologetic look, "But a sun shard bracelet? Do you know how uncommon those are?"

"So what, is that our new bad-guy sign?" I reply sarcastically. "If you have a blue bandana, a bright red hood, or a taste for expensive jewelry, you may be a criminal?"

We pass through Route 117, and the three of them continue whispering their slightly less than stellar opinions of our new friend in my ear. Honestly, I liked her. I didn't know what it was, but she seemed to draw me in with her kind voice and genuine smile.

We make it to Verdanturf, and Lucy eyes the Contest Hall anxiously, but luckily we steer clear of it, instead following Britta to the Poké Mart, where many plain wooden booths fill the surrounding area. A few people wave hello at her, most in the process of decorating their own booths.

She stops, turning to smile at us. "If you two strong gentlemen," she gestures to Zac and Brewer, though I pretend to glance around as if looking for the _strong gentlemen _she's referring to, "Could carry my booth over to Mauville, that'd be lovely. I'd prefer it to the right of the Gym, if you don't mind." They nod and together, lift the heavy structure.

"And _you_," she turns to Lucy. "You seem to have an eye for fashion, perhaps you'd like to spice it up for me, hm?" She points to a box filled with shimmering, gauzy fabrics, candles and wind chimes. Lucy nods and picks up the box, following the boys back to Mauville.

I stand expectantly, awaiting my role. "What about me?" I ask.

She turns, smirking, and I see she has a crystal ball in her hands. "How would you like to be my test subject?"

-0-

"Are you sure it's okay to leave her like that?" Lucy asks, frowning.

Zac waves his hand dismissively, "Al can handle herself. I think this Britta's a bit off, but not dangerous."

The Sinnoh native bite her lip as she spreads midnight-colored fabric across the tabletop portion of the booth. "If you say so..."she murmurs uncertainty.

"So what's the deal with this carnival anyway?" Brewer asks as he and Zac lift the wooden sign that attaches to the booth. "I've never heard of any Summer Solstice Carnival."

"That's because it doesn't exist," Zac replies, grimacing as he twits the poles holding the sign into their spots.

Lucy arches an eyebrow. "It better exist," she warns, reaching into the box for a handful of candles, "I'm not putting this much effort into this setup for nothing."

The researcher sighs, removing his glasses to wipe them on his shirt. "It _exists_," he says, replacing his glasses. "But it used to exist under a different name. I guess this is sort of a revival attempt. They're trying to bring it back under a new theme."

"What was so wrong about the original?" Lucy asks, shooing Daisy away as the Pokémon batted at the wind chime she pulled from the box.

Zac stares at the booth. "It was called the Eon Carnival," he says quietly.

The other two freeze.

"You don't mean..." Brewer begins, frowning at Zac.

"Latias and Latios," Zac confirms, nodding.

"But why?" Lucy asks, ignoring Daisy as the Catty Pokémon flexed her claws in the fabric draped across the booth, ripping holes in it. "Who would want to bring that kind of bad luck on themselves?"

"Latias and Latios weren't always considered bad luck," Zac says, leaning back against the booth and reaching into his pack. He pulls out a thick book, the cover of which is covered with tiny dots.

"Braille," Brewer mutters, his dark eyes on the novel, traveling over the many dots.

Zac nods, flipping it open. "_Hoenn's Mythology," _he translates. "There was a time when Latias and Latios were revered, loved by the citizens of Hoenn," he explains, his hazel eyes traveling over paragraphs of braille.

"So what happened?" Brewer asks, leaning on the booth and peering over his friend's shoulder. "How'd they become such taboo?"

"They were powerful," Zac says simply, shrugging. "People wanted to capture them. They were harassed at every turn, Pokéballs practically being rained down on them. Soon, Latias and Latios grew to fear the people, until finally, at this very carnival, the one made in their honor, they appeared to try and win back the people's respect."

Lucy bites her lip, scooping up Daisy and holding the haughty Pokémon to her chest. "What happened?" she asks.

"They were attacked," Zac mutters, closing the book and sliding back in his pack. He had this story memorized. "The people were so ruled by greed they finally ordered their Pokémon to attack the duo." He sighs, casting a look around the town as if imagining it in flames, the way it had been in the story.

"So they retaliated, Latias and Latios. Their power far outmatched that of any Pokémon, and they probably would have leveled the town if it hadn't been for the arrival of the Regis," Zac continues.

"You mean the Regi Trio?" Lucy asks, confused, "Those old legends?"

Zac nods, "The very same. Regirock, Regice and Registeel appeared. They battled the Eon duo, eventually overpowering them."

"Then what?" Brewer asks, frowning.

"Then they were banished. The Regis feared the relationship between the people and the duo had been ruined, and so they ordered the two to leave their home," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "After that, the Regis took a good hard look at themselves, and realized the temptation of power was too great for the people, and they resolved to seal themselves away as well, so as to never tempt the people again. It was then decided that Legendary Pokémon were not to be disturbed."

"So that's why they renamed the carnival," Lucy mutters. "They feel guilty about making the duo leave."

Zac shrugs, "Hard to say. It could be that particular legend has just fallen to the wayside. Maybe they're going for a fresher look."

"That's such a sad story," the Coordinator goes on, frowning sadly at the booth.

"Power is tempting, though," Brewer says quietly, earning wary looks from Zac and Lucy.

"Yeah," the researcher says awkwardly. "Um, come on Brew Crew. Let's finish this thing off, yeah?"

-0-

"Just relax," Britta soothes, settling across from me.

I'm not nervous, per se. Nothing too threatening can happen, considering we're sitting in a quiet corner of Verdanturf, facing each other in the grass.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she asks casually, glancing up at me as she adjusts her crystal ball on the stand between us.

I wrinkle my nose. "Destiny?" I frown, mulling it over, "No, not particularly."

"Fate?" she tries, raising her eyebrows.

I shake my head, "Not a chance."

She smirks, "So you think people are in complete control of their lives?"

"To an extent," I reply carefully.

"Perhaps you're just afraid of your decisions being made for you," she murmurs.

I feel my indignation swirl up at her comment. "I'm not _afraid_ of anything," I tell her coolly.

She smirks, and I see her pull a Pokéball from the folds of her dress. "I have a theory," she says, rolling the capsule system between her fingers. "Care to hear it?"

I shrug, sitting back in the grass, "Knock yourself out," I say indifferently. I'm really just hoping she'll call out her Pokémon. I'm eager to see what she has.

To my disappointment, she pockets the 'ball, and instead stares at me straight on.

"I think fate brought you to this carnival because of your brother," she says, quite seriously.

I sit up so fast I feel my head spin. "Excuse me?" I gape at her.

She ignores my outburst. "Do you know what this carnival was originally made for?" she asks.

"I don't even know what it's made for _now_. In fact, I didn't even know it _existed_ until like, five minutes ago," I return dryly.

"Are you familiar with the legend of the Eon Duo?" she asks in a light voice, crossing her legs.

Familiar? I could recite that thing in my sleep. How many times had I begged Aden to recite the myth before bed when Norman stubbornly refused to? My father had never liked myths.

"Sure, Latias and Latios were powerful, and the people wanted them for themselves. The Duo comes to try and make peace and end up getting attacked. They in turn attack the town until the Regis arrive and kick them out of Hoenn, then locking themselves away."

She smirks at my abridged version, "And do you know what happed to Latias and Latios after they were banished?"

I frown, thinking it over. "No, I guess I don't," I answer. "I always thought the legend just ended there."

"They were siblings," Britta says, her kind brown eyes staring into mine.

I give her an incredulous look, "Oh, please," I grumble, rolling my eyes.

"It's true," she says, smiling at my skeptical tone.

"So what? I've got a brother and so that makes me somehow drawn to this festive?" I demand sarcastically. I pause, "Hang on, how'd you even know I had a brother?"

She smirks, standing and shaking out her dress.

"I don't think there's a single person on this continent who _doesn't_ know you have a brother, Allison Harper," she informs me, arching and eyebrow as she scoops up her crystal ball.

I bite my lip. She's right.

"So what?" I ask, standing with her. "Why was I drawn here? What's your theory on my destiny or whatever?"

She gives me an apprising look, "Find out the rest of the Eon Legend," she replies. "Then I'll tell you."

I stare after her as she walks out of Verdanturf and back into Route 117.

I get the sneaking suspicion I'm going to see her again.

"C'mon, Neptune," I mutter, picking up my Pokémon. "Let's go find the others."

-0-

"Didn't think I'd see you here," he hears the smile in her voice.

Aden smiles himself, not turning as he hears her approach. "I heard some crazy gypsy lady was telling fortunes, how could I resist?"

Britta laughs, and the sound makes the Pokémon Master's smile grow. "Ah, it's only an act. I'm dying to get out of this damn thing," she tugs down on the hem dress, frowning.

He tosses a smirk over his shoulder. "You look nice," he says arching an eyebrow.

She snorts, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Please, I look like I just escaped the loony bin."

They stand side by side in silence for a moment, staring across the lake to Route 118. "She's here," Britta says after a while, glancing sideways at him.

His expression remains unchanged. "I know," he replies.

"You're scared," she says quietly, looking back towards the lake.

"I'm not scared of anything," he disagrees, his voice low and firm.

She laughs then, raising a hand to her mouth in a vain attempt to smother her giggles, causing her sun shard bracelet to gleam in the receding light.

He peers at her, puzzled. "What?" he asks, half-smiling, half-frowning.

She looks up at him, still grinning. "She gave me that same look!" she says, laughing. "I told her she was afraid of destiny, and she got all hot and bothered like you."

He rolls his eyes, shifting his gaze back to the water. "I am not _hot_ and _bothered_," he mutters, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She smirks, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Oh of course not," she says in a grand voice. "Heaven forbid the great Master Aden admit to being affected by anything."

He sighs, but is unable to wipe the smirk from his face. Britta has that effect on him.

"Samantha de Luca's here," he says, serious once more.

Britta nods. "I know, I heard about the Trick House."

He shoots her a sideways look. "That means Rocket knows," he says, and only she could hear the thin whisper of panic in his strong and steady voice.

He jumps slightly as he feels her linking arms with him, pulling herself into his side. "Relax," she soothes, leaning her head on his shoulder, "Rocket's not about to stage some kind of crazy scheme, not in Hoenn. Cruel he may be, Giovanni's not stupid. Even he knows Aqua and Magma call the shots here."

"Then why is she here?" he growls, glaring out at the water that was slowly being turned gold by the sun.

She shrugs, brushing his arm, "A million different reasons, none of them anything we need to worry about. Rocket's not a threat to us, Aden."

He relaxes, if only a bit.

"And what about Aqua and Magma?" he asks.

"Well this may come as a shock to you," she says dryly, glancing up at him. "But Allie is actually perfectly capable of taking care of herself. As long as she doesn't actively pursue them, I think she'll be just fine."

He nods again, her calm and peaceful tone soothing his anxiety.

The silence returns, but only for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking," she murmurs, standing on her tiptoes to rest her chin on his shoulder.

He doesn't answer.

She sighs, pulling away from him. His eyes remain trained straight ahead.

"She's not stupid, Aden."

"She's not a genius either, Brit."

She frowns, crossing her arms, finally provoked. "Aden, she is travelling this continent with Professor Birch's _son_. He probably knows more about it than we do! Exactly how long do you think it will take them to put two and two together?"

He refuses to meet her gaze. "Long enough for us to take care of it," he answers curtly.

She shakes her head, her eyes flaring. "Then you're a fool, Aden Harper," she says coldly.

She turns to leave, but he catches her hand, pulling her back towards him.

Britta glares, allowing herself to be held. "You're scared," she insists, looking up at him unhappily as he wraps his arms around her waist.

He sighs, frowning back down into her eyes. "Can you blame me?" he counters quietly.

It's silent as they stare at each other, both thinking the same thing but both unwilling it to say it.

Voice had a funny way of giving life to ideas, even terrible ones like that.

"She should be at home," he groans, closing his eyes. "Why is she even here? At Mauville of all places?"

Britta chuckles, shaking her head and brushing sandy hair out of his sea-green eyes. "You sound like Norman," she says, smirking.

He just sighs heavily, silent.

"It'll be ok," she promises softly, hugging him. "We'll keep her safe, I swear. It won't be like last time."

Aden just sighs, drawing her up to him and holding her.

"The Legends are walking, Britta," he says softly.

"I know, Aden," she replies, her voice catching. "I know."

* * *

**Wow, that was a doozy of a chapter.**

**Yeah, this entire thing wasn't actually in my original plan, per se, but once I started writing it I couldn't stop. **

**Before anyone goes off on an "This isn't how the game went, Duchess" rant, I am fully aware that my version of the Eon Duo and the Regi Trio Legends are in no way similar to the ones in the game. In my defense, there didn't seem to be a really big, important myth attached to them anyway, so I didn't feel too bad. If it's really bothering any of you, I promise when Groudon and Kyogre show up, their legend is the same as the in-game one.**

**I hope I didn't bore you too much, I'm just trying to add some mystery to keep the story exciting.**

**And we finally found out more about Aden, so huzzah for that. Britta Dysart is probably my new favorite character, just throwing that out there.**

**In all seriousness, if there seems to be some flaws in this chapter, please let me know. I know it's different from what I ususally do, but I hope it's a good kind of different and not an "I'm going to unfollow this piece of crap" different.**

**Leave a review, if that's your thing. And if you want me to justify my constant email-checking.**

**Thanks always, dear readers,**

**-Duchess**


	10. Chapter 10

I meet up with them back in Mauville.

"What happened to Britta?" Lucy asks, glancing up as I walk over.

I frown, glancing around. "You mean she's not here?"

Zac shakes his head, "We haven't seen her," he says.

"Huh, weird," I shrug. "I guess she'll show up later..."

"What did she want from you?" Brewer asks, leaning against the booth.

"She just talked about the Eon Duo," I say, frowning slightly. "She kept talking about my destiny, and how I was _drawn_ to the carnival."

Lucy and Zac look interested while Brewer pulls a face similar to mine. I smirk. My rival and I have the same views on _fate_: it was just an excuse for people to sit around waiting for things to happen instead of going out and doing them yourself.

"That's dumb," the Kanto native says dismissively, and I nod in agreement.

Lucy leans forward curiously, "What'd she say?"

I shrug, rolling Skyler's Pokéball between my fingers. "She mentioned my brother," I say quietly.

The playful atmosphere drops drastically.

"How does she know Aden?" Lucy asks carefully.

"Who _doesn't_ know Aden?" Brewer replies, crossing his arms.

"Fair point," my best friend murmurs, looking away.

"She said Latias and Latios were...siblings?" I turn my statement into a question, tossing a look over at Zac, who ponders it.

"Not sure, the myth never really addresses it," he answers.

"But are we sure we know the complete myth?" I argue. "Britta said there was more, she said something happened to Latias and Latios _after_ the Regis banished them."

Zac's resolute, "No way. The legend ends there, Allie. Latias and Latios left Hoenn. The end."

"But what if there's more?" I press.

"So what if there is?" Brewer cuts in. "Let's suppose there's an entire other chapter. Who cares?"

"_I _care!" I snap at him.

"Why?" he demands, glaring. "Some gypsy-woman suddenly says your fate's tied to a century-old myth and you believe her?"

"Guys, knock it off," Lucy hisses. "People are staring!"

"And what if she's right?" I demand, ignoring her and getting up in my rival's face. "What if my fate _is_ tied to some legend?"

He glares at me, "Only idiots believe in fate, Allison," he growls back, my full name rolling off his tongue like acid.

"Yeah? Well then in that case you must be a staunch believer!" I shoot back at him, my voice rising.

If left to our own devices, I'm sure our discussion would have ended in a nice little street brawl.

Instead, I get a popsicle shoved in my face.

"Whoa!" I rear back, away from the pale blue frozen treat. I glance up and see Wally Miller on the other end, offering it to me while licking an ice cream cone of his own.

"Here!" he says, waving it around a bit as though I somehow missed the thing he'd nearly gouged my eye out with a second ago.

I try for a smile, though it feels like a grimace. "Thanks, Wally," I say, accepting the treat.

He nods, grinning around his double-scoop of chocolate. "No problem, they're giving them out for free at a booth over there," he gestures vaguely in the direction of Route 118, seeming more interested in the booth we're standing around. "Who's is this?"

We all glance back at Britta's booth, which Lucy had decorated quite well. Candles burned low, making the dark blue fabric adorning the thing shine in the light. Wind chimes clash together gently in the wind, electing a soothing melody.

Too bad there's _nobody here to run it._

"Uh...dunno," I say quickly, turning back to the sickly boy. "Enjoying the carnival, Wally?"

He nods excitedly, "Oh, yeah! They have tons of cool things! Come on, I'll show you!" And he takes off down the street.

I shrug at my friends, pop the ice treat in my mouth, and start off after him.

-0-

The Summer Solstice Carnival, as it turns out, is pretty sweet.

We would have participated in it no matter what—everything, including the local Gym, was closed due to the festivities, leaving us with few options—but I can honestly say I enjoyed myself.

There were booths everywhere you looked, each proudly advertising its purpose. Some sold plush dolls of various Pokémon, some promoted different types of Pokéballs, while one showcased various evolutionary stones. I didn't stay long there; the look the owner was giving my Eevee made me a tad uncomfortable.

We pass some Trainers eager for a battle, and I beat most of them handily. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm getting pretty good at this whole Pokémon Master thing. At least that's how I felt until I lost to a pair of twins in a tandem battle, much to Brewer's amusement. It wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't _six_ and had been using a _Plusle _and _Minun_.

Lucy even gets a chance to show off a bit, using her Swablu named Hera to take down a Breeder's Whismur. It all went fine, until he asked for her number at the end and she was hastily hustled away by Brewer and Zac.

Brewer, of course, manages to beat every single challenger. His array of Fire, Water, Psychic and Flying moves give him the upper hand in nearly every match.

Zac doesn't battle, which isn't to say he can't. If anyone could give my rival a run for his money it would be the spectacle-clad researcher. Zac's got a team of hard-hitting Pokémon that can certainly do business, but he stays back for some reason, his nose stuck in a thick book that Lucy tells me is about Hoenn's myths. Part of me feels bad he was missing out on the carnival, but the majority of my mind is just glad I'm not the only one who was weirded out about the whole Eon Duo thing.

I don't believe in fate. Really I don't. But there was just something about the way Britta had said it...

My thoughts are interrupted by Brewer, who suddenly has an arm around my waist and half-hauls, half-carries me across town.

"Excuse you!" I protest, but he keeps dragging me away. He finally sets me down in front of Mauville's Game Corner.

"Don't look now, but look who's in front of the Gym," he says, his voice low in my ear.

Now I'm not sure how most people respond to the _don't look now_ phrase, but I resolve to find the nearest reflective surface and _look._

So it's in the shiny exterior of the Game Corner I see a short, older man with a fleece pullover and crazy white hair laughing jovially next to...

Son of a Beedrill.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," I mutter, hastily ducking behind my friends as Lucy and Zac hurry over. "What am I going to do?"

"It's fine, it's fine," Lucy says in a voice that sounds like the opposite of fine. "It's just Norman. Your dad. The Leader of Petalburg. Who is going to _kill_ you when he sees you're not in Dewford."

"Not helping Luce," Brewer scolds, shifting his weight to hide me from view.

"Come on," Zac says, pulling gently on my arm towards the Game Corner, "We can hide in here."

"Where're you guys going?" Wally asks, following us.

Lucy flaps him quiet, throwing an anxious glance over at the Gym. "Shhh, we're just doing some sightseeing," she invents hastily as we scoot towards the Game Corner.

"I don't think that's open," the sickly boy goes on. Jumping Jigglypuffs, is he _always_ this loud? It's like he's _trying_ to get Norman to look over here!

"It's no good," Zac grumbles, tugging on the handles. "It's locked!"

Brewer pushes the researcher aside, throwing a Pokéball to the ground. "Gale, Confusion!" he orders, pointing to the doors.

The Duck Pokémon closes his eyes in concentration and the doors of the Game Corner are encased in purple energy. With a grunt, Gale lashes out with his power, and the doors are thrown wide open.

"Nice work," Brewer says, calling his Pokémon back and hustling us inside.

"Wow, that's a neat trick!" Wally says, tripping after us. "I wonder if I can get Ralts to do that!"

We all exchange looks.

"We have to get rid of him," Zac murmurs.

I sigh, torn, "He's not hurting anything..."

"Wally, we really need you to leave, ok?" Brewer kneels in front of him, his eyes serious. "I promise once we're done here we'll come see you again, but just give us a little bit on our own, ok?"

I watch the exchange knowingly. Brewer grinds my nerves so often, sometimes I forget that he's so good with kids, a trait he picked up when his little sister Belle was born.

Wally frowns, "Why? What are you guys doing here?"

"Pokémon Trainer stuff," Brewer says gravely.

Wally's shoulders slump, but he suddenly looks up grinning.

"So if I become a Pokémon Trainer, I can come too?" he asks, his eyes wide.

Brewer nods, standing. "Sure can, kiddo. Why don't you go out and train? We'll catch up with you in a bit."

Smiling, Wally happily races out the door.

Brewer watches him go, before turning back to us.

"Nice one," Zac compliments.

Brewer shrugs, "It's no big deal. However, the fact that Norman's within spitting distance of Allie, is." My rival crosses his arms. "What are we going to do?"

"Are we sure he's here for Allie?" Lucy asks hopefully. "He could just be here for the carnival..."

She trails off and we stand there in silence for a moment, before the door to the Game Corner jiggles slightly.

"Sometimes you just gotta wiggle the key around..." a cheerful voice says from the other side.

"Ah," Norman says understandingly, "Some buildings in Petalburg are like that too."

We all exchange the worst _Oh, Crap_ looks in history.

"Hide!" Zac orders in a whisper, grabbing Lucy's hand and pulling her over to the counter, vaulting over it and ducking out of sight.

Together, Brewer and I make a dive for the roulette tables, scooting as far back as we can, trusting the darkness to conceal us.

The two men step in, closing the doors behind them.

"The doors are unlocked?" Norman's voice is concerned.

The other man is unperturbed, "Oh, the workers were probably just excited for the carnival and forgot about them."

I peer out from under the roulette table, identifying my dad's tennis shoes and a pair beat-up loafers belonging to his companion.

"This should give us some privacy," the man goes on, flipping a light switch that causes Brewer and I to slink farther back into shadow.

"I _am_ sorry to drag you away from your carnival, Wattson," Norman says apologetically. "I'll only be a moment."

I frown. _Wattson_. The name tickles my memory. Where have I heard that before...?

Wattson chuckles, "Oh, don't worry about it. I've always got time for you, you old coot."

Brewer and I exchange looks.

_Old coot?_ he mouths at me.

I shrug.

"So you say you have seen him?" Norman's all business again.

There's a rustle of clothing, and I imagine Wattson's shrugging. "Umberon certainly aren't a sight you see every day," he says calmly.

My breath freezes in my chest.

Umberon. Norman.

_Aden._

"What is he up to?" my dad growls, pacing the floor of the Game Corner, coming dangerously close to our hiding spot with every stride.

"You gotta hand it to him, though. That son of yours is no slouch," Wattson says jovially. "Why, I still remember when he challenged me all those years ago. All he used was a tiny little Sandshrew and he beat me like it was nothing!"

"He's going to ruin everything," Norman gripes, still treading across the plush red carpet, ignoring Wattson's praise.

Wattson's voice is quiet, "Or maybe he'll help."

Norman grumbles something under his breath that I don't quite catch, but doubt is polite.

"The Legends are walking again, Wattson," my father's voice is graver than I've ever heard.

A chill races down my spine at the words. _The Legends are walking._ What did it mean?

"Peace, friend," Wattson's voice is soothing. "All the Leaders are on the lookout. Allie will be back, safe and sound in Littleroot in no time."

I gulp, not totally down with being on _Hoenn's Most Wanted_ list.

Norman takes a deep breath. "I know. Thank you, Wattson. And here," he hands something to the other man, but from my position under the table I can't see what it is.

"Ah!" Wattson's voice is intrigued, pleasantly so, "Fascinating! I had been meaning to make my way to Rustboro to see it..."

"Just pass it on the Flannery whenever you're done," my dad explains. "Winona wants us to circulate it around to all the Leaders."

"Of course, of course," Wattson tucks the mystery object away in his bag.

"Very well, I'll see you later, Wattson," Norman says, turning and exiting the Game Corner.

I sigh, relaxing a bit, not believing my luck.

That's when the cheerful, old face of Mauville's Gym Leader, Wattson, pops up in front of me as he bends down in front of the roulette table.

"Boo!" he shouts.

I yelp with surprise and leap back, nailing my head on the table. I swear, rubbing my head and glaring at the Leader who throws back his head and laughs.

"The jig is up, little Miss Harper. Time to come on out. You two, Mr. Brewer," he adds, his kind brown eyes sparking with energy.

Cautiously, Brewer and I climb out from under the roulette table.

"Er...hey Leader Wattson," I say awkwardly. Mother of Mankeys, what the heck do you say after you've been caught eavesdropping on a conversation? One that's about _you_ no less?

But Wattson just smiles cheerfully, "Enjoying the carnival?" he asks causally, grinning. Without turning, he calls, "Oh, and Miss Reed and Mr. Birch, feel free to join us."

Slowly, Lucy and Zac poke their heads over the top of the counter.

"Leader Wattson," Zac says, climbing back over the counter. "How did you know...?"

"I had my suspicions," Wattson says with a smirk. "You left the door unlocked, for starters. And I saw Wally Miller walking out of here just moments earlier. And of course, where there's one of you..." his friendly eyes sweep over the four of us. "There's the rest of you."

We stand there for a moment, no one quite knowing what to say.

"Please don't send me back to Littleroot," I blurt out pathetically.

Wattson blinks, tiling his head. "Why would I do that, my dear?" he asks.

I frown, giving him a hard look. "Um...because you told my dad you would like, ten seconds ago?"

The crazy old man just smiles knowingly, "I think I'll let you hang around a little longer. Unless you'd like to go back home?" he arches an eyebrow.

_"No!"_ we all shout in unison, and the Leader laughs.

"Very well then. Quit worrying, go and enjoy the rest of the carnival," and he shoos us out of the Game Corner and back onto the streets of Mauville.

"You might want to keep your head down," Wattson advises as he steps out after us, locking the door behind him. "I'm not sure if Norman has left yet."

We thank him and set out, our heads bent together as we merge into the now-crowded streets.

"Did you see what Norman gave him?" Lucy asks, her crystalline blue eyes narrowed.

Brewer shakes his head, "No, all we could see was their feet."

Zac frowns, his hazel eyes blazing behind his glasses. "Wattson had said he was meaning to go to Rustboro to see it," he threw us a look. "What's in Rustboro?"

Then it clicks:

_I purse my lips, curiosity piqued. "Why? What's in Rustboro?"_

_Zac flashes his signature grin. "Fossils," he says, his eyes bright. _

"The Ruin Maniac..." I mutter, frowning. Then I look up as it all comes together. "The Ruin Maniac in Fallarbor found something really strange! That's what you said that day we saved the worker in the woods, remember? He brought it to Rustboro, to Devon Corp!"

Brewer's less impressed. "Why would the Gym Leader's care about some dumb old rock?" he asks, pulling a face.

But Professor Birch's sons eyes are wide. "That's not any old rock, Brewer," he says.

And he turns, doubling back to the Gym.

"Zac!" Lucy calls, as we hurry after him.

"We have to get that fossil," he says, his voice firm.

I roll my eyes. "You can't _steal_ from a Gym Leader, Zac Attack."

I think its water-tight logic, but Lucy coughs in a way that sounds suspiciously like, _"Brawly's WaveRunner,"_ and effectively ruins by shining moment.

"Alright, alright," I snap, glaring at her. "But I'm serious, if we're going to be stealing from Leaders; we better have a damn good reason." I cross my arms. "So what's up with this fossil? Why's it so important?"

In response, Zac leads us through the streets, to the center of town where a few people are standing around examining a glass case. Eventually, we work our way to the front, and Zac points at the object inside it like he's just made a great point.

"It's a rock," I say intelligently, glancing down at the century-old stone tablet nestled in the cushions inside the case.

"Yeah, and more braille," Brewer mutters, squinting at the mass of dots scattered across the surface of stone.

_"The Eon Tablet,"_ Lucy reads, and my rival and I glance up in surprise.

"Since when do you read braille?" I ask, stunned.

She rolls her eyes. "Since they posted the translation in English," she replies, jabbing a finger at the piece of paper in front of her.

Grumbling under my breath, I peer at it over her shoulder. "It's the Eon Duo Legend," I say, frowning as my eyes scan that page. "See? The people wanted to capture them, there was a battle, the Regis came, no Legendry Pokémon for the people, blah, blah, blah."

An elderly lady gives me a dirty look, and grumbles something like, _"unappreciative whipper-snapper,"_ under her breath as she continues to peruse the tablet.

"Zac, this is all stuff we already know," I say, crossing my arms.

He shakes his head, and I can tell he's getting that excited glint in his eyes that he gets whenever he's come to some grand conclusion.

"See, that's what I thought too. You said Britta talked about other parts of the myth, like we hadn't heard the whole thing. I thought she was wrong, because I have a copy of the myth here," he pulls out the thick novel he'd had his face in all night.

"And?" Brewer asks, arching an eyebrow.

"And it goes exactly like that," he points to the translated version. "Like Allie said: Latias and Latios fought the people, the Regis came, and the Eon Duo were banished."

Lucy groans, "I'm so confused. If your book and the tablet say the same thing, what's the point of all this?"

The researcher's eyes gleam in the receding light, "They _don't," _he says.

Seeing our unimpressed faces, he quickly continues. "Okay, so this is a translation of the tablet," he points to the piece of paper atop the glass case.

Lucy nods, "Right."

"And that's what's word-for-word in my book," he lifts the heavy novel of Hoenn mythology and we nod again.

"Right," I say.

"But _this_," he points to the tablet, "_Doesn't_ match. Not exactly anyway."

Sometimes I think Zac forgets the fact that we weren't all practically raised in a lab like him and therefore need more than three sentences to explain a miniscule variation between two pieces of ancienttext.

"So...what's the difference between them?" I ask, struggling to keep up.

"This," he points to the end of the tablet, "An extra line at the bottom of the tablet."

It's true, as my eyes flicker between the passage in the book, and the lines of braille on the tablet, there seems to be one more on the tablet.

Brewer slowly nods with understanding, "I get it. There's twenty-one lines here," he points to the tablet, "But only twenty lines here," he looks to the book in Zac's hands.

"So where'd the extra line come from?" Lucy asks, frowning.

"There was more to the myth," I say faintly, my eyes raking the tablet.

Zac nods, "Exactly. Britta was right, there's more to the myth. And I'd bet any amount of money it's on that rock the Ruin Maniac found."

"That's why the Leaders want to see it," I murmur. "Norman said 'the Legends are walking.' Something new must be happening with the Legendary Pokémon."

Lucy wrings her hands. "But, guys, shouldn't we leave that in the hands of the Leaders? If something is happening, why would we want to _steal_ it?"

"Because," Brewer says, pulling his baseball cap low over his blue-black eyes and shooting me a sly grin, "Allie's fate is tied to it."

I smirk at him, crossing my arms. "Only idiots believe in fate, Ryan Brewer," I tell him, arching an eyebrow.

Lucy gives little _huff_, like she's finally accepted the fact we're now a band of kleptomaniacs. "Guess we're all just a bunch of idiots then," she says with a sigh.

* * *

**Hello, dear readers, hope you're hanging in there.**

**Hopefully I did a better job of explaining the whole Eon Duo thing. Latias and Latios are key to this story.**

**I bet you all forgot about the fossil at the beginning, didn't you? So the gang are off to steal it from Wattson. I'm sure that will end well. And is Allie ever going to get her hands on a badge?**

**And guys, ****_please_**** do review. I know I try to play it off like it's no big deal but if you really think I'm taking this in the wrong direction, or I'm not explaining myself well enough, I'd really like to know! No one really proof reads these things before I send them out, so if something really doesn't connect, all you have to do is tell me and I'll do my best to fix it.**

**So, please review. I'll be totally honest: the lack of response is making me a little nervous and when I get nervous my writing starts to drift dangerously into the ****_trying too hard_**** area. And nobody wants that.**

**So, if you have a moment to spare and want to raise my confidence a touch, please review.**

**-Duchess**


	11. Chapter 11

We spend the night at Wally's Uncle's house.

It seemed like a nice invitation, and we were all up for sleeping anywhere that _wasn't_ a Pokécenter. There's nothing wrong with them exactly, but let's just say there's a reason they're called _Pokécenter_s and not _People_centers.

Why we assumed his family would have enough room for the four of us is beyond me, but we were all awfully surprised when we walked into their house and our eyes fell upon the one bed in the entire house.

"Oh," Lucy says in a small voice.

"Huh," Zac mutters, his mouth pulling down.

"Dibs," Brewer declares, tossing his backpack on it.

I roll my eyes, throwing his backpack right back at him, which he catches with a smirk.

"The floor's fine by me," he says with a shrug. "Luce can take the bed."

"Guys," I scold. "That's probably Wally's bed!"

"No, it's mine."

We all turn to see a young woman standing in the doorway, smiling kindly.

"Wanda..." I say quietly.

Wanda Miller is the other half of the "Crazy Man of Rustboro" tale. Remember ole Sam Wilson? The one who's chipping away at the boulder in Rusturf Tunnel? This is the object of his devotion.

"Ms. Miller," Zac says politely. "We didn't mean to intrude..." He trails off as she raises a hand to silence him.

"Please, there's no need to apologize. We're happy to have you," she says, the sincerity of her words ringing out.

"Wally invited us," I say, glancing around. "But, uh, I guess we lost him somewhere between here and Mauville..." I bite my lip, hoping they've developed some sort of Lost-and-Found system for the sickly kid, or at least safety-pinned their phone number to his shirt.

"Wally doesn't sleep here," I look up to see his uncle walking in then.

"Oh?" Lucy looks confused. "Where does he stay then?"

"The Pokécenter," his uncle says curtly.

Lucy swallows uncomfortably, taking a step back, like she's physically bowing out under his angry stare. "Sorry," she mutters, eyes on the floor.

"Hey, take it easy," Zac says, catching the blonde's elbow to steady her and frowning at Wally's uncle. "She didn't mean anything by it."

"Dad," Wanda scolds, giving him a reproachful look. Her dad grumbles something about not having fed his Linoone and ambles out the door.

"Sorry about him," she says, smoothing out her apron in a habitual manner that suggests it's a nervous habit.

"I didn't mean to offend anyone..." Lucy says quietly, seeming to shrink into Zac's side. Nothing upsets my best friend more than upsetting other people.

Wanda shakes her head. "You didn't. Dad's just always been sort of..._touchy_ about Wally's illness. He just feels really bad for him."

I cross my arms, staring out the door her dad had exited through. "Who doesn't?" I mutter, frowning. "Poor kid's got a _hole_ in his heart."

Wanda nods wearily. "I know. He has trouble sleeping. His body can't relax properly, and so he never gets a good night's sleep unless he's being tended to at the Pokécenter."

"Well then let's sleep there," Brewer says, pulling his backpack on. "We'll keep him company."

I glance over at my rival, touched at his kindness. Sometimes it's so easy to like Brewer.

Then my thoughts drift back to his and Wally's battle and I look away, my face darkening.

Wanda just gives a tired smile, "That's very kind of you, but I don't think he'd be able to sleep with you four there. He gets very excited whenever you're around." She looks up at us then, her eyes serious. "I don't think you realize how much you mean to him, not many Trainers take the time to even give him a passing glance, and it means a lot."

I swallow a lump in my throat painfully. I don't get compliments like that a lot.

Wanda explains that she was planning on spending the night in Rusturf Tunnel, the closest she can get to Sam. I personally thought it was creepy, but she said she'd have her Vileplume, so she'd be fine.

"They're really in love, huh?" Lucy says faintly, watching as Wanda grabs some blankets and a flashlight and set out.

"Yeah, caves," Brewer mutters, scratching the back of his head, "Super romantic."

I consider bringing up my rival's own womanizing tendencies, but think better of it. "So, the floor it is," I say, dropping my bag on the ground.

"Don't be dumb," Brewer says with a frown. "You take the bed."

I shake my head, "I don't want it. Luce can take it."

Lucy squares her shoulders and dumps her tote on the floor, "Well, _I'm_ not going to sleep in it."

We end up having to draw straws, since none of us are selfish enough to claim the stupid thing. I wind up with the short straw, and reluctantly set my bag on the bed.

Neptune and Eevee make themselves right at home, curling up together and are asleep in moments. Skyler settles herself on the bedpost, preening contently.

"We'll need some new clothes," Zac says as we're all getting ready to turn in. "Or am I the only one who only packed for Dewford?"

I nod in agreement, frowning down at my backpack.

Besides the clothes I'm currently wearing, all I've got are sweatpants, and old T-Shirt, and a pair of socks.

"That's all you brought?" Brewer asks critically, peering at my inventory over my shoulder.

I elbow him in the gut, glaring. "Can it, Brewer. I've never packed for anything before."

Lucy sighs, sitting cross-legged on an old quilt while she strokes Daisy, who is purring contently in her lap. "I could...tap some resources," she mutters, her eyes on her Glameow.

Uh-oh.

The only _resources _Lucy has in Verdanturf would be the Contest Hall. That won't go over well.

"You don't have to do that," I say automatically.

She sighs again, running a hand through her long blonde hair. "Don't worry about it. If the three of you are brave enough to steal from a Gym Leader, I can go to a Contest Hall and ask for some clothes."

"That reminds me," I throw a glance back to Zac. "Exactly how are we going to steal this fossil from Wattson?"

The researcher shrugs, laying his head against his massive backpack like a pillow. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he says idly. I throw him a look.

"Zac...we're going to be crossing that bridge like, tomorrow-ish. A few ideas wouldn't really hurt." I try, but he's not meeting my gaze. Not exactly sending me warm and fuzzy vibes.

"They keep talking about Aden," Zac's voice is guarded.

I sigh inwardly, rubbing my temples. Here we go.

"Yeah," I agree, staring at the ceiling. "They sure do."

"He's here," Brewer says, earning alarmed looks from Lucy and Zac.

I don't mind it. At least someone's willing to talk straight to me. Even if that someone is really annoying and about as compassionate and caring as a cactus.

"Says who?" I demand, sitting up an arching an eyebrow.

He snorts, his blue-black eyes on the small bowl of berries he's crushing up for his Pokémon. "Let's see, Wattson, Norman, Britta..." He trails off, but my aloof expression holds.

"Wow. A whopping three people. You've got me convinced," I say drily, stroking Eevee as she snoozes.

He scowls, "Would you like to poll the town?" he snaps. "Face it, Al. When things start going to hell, you know your brother has an _uncanny_ ability to be right in the center of it."

Lucy gasps quietly; Zac's eyes go wide behind his glasses.

I take my time replying.

"First off, you're damn lucky I'm comfortable here or I'd so kick your ass for that. Secondly, why in the world would my brother be here? He hates Hoenn." My voice is cold, and my eyes hold a warning. If he pushes this, he's going to regret it.

Lucy's voice is very small. "But he loves you," she says, her eyes on the floor.

I snort, "Aden Harper loves one thing, Luce, and his kid sister ain't it."

"Maybe he's interested in the Legends as well," Zac muses.

I sigh, shaking my head. "Trust me; Aden is probably a million miles from here, in Johto or Sinnoh."

"He's here, Al," Brewer's voice is absolute.

I shake my head, "He's not. Aden doesn't care about me, or Norman, or mom, or anyone else. He's self-serving, he's power-hungry, and...and..." I cast my mind around for a final, cool and cutting adjective, "...a jerk." I finish lamely, looking away.

"But, Allie...he's family," Lucy says weakly. Zac nods firmly.

I shake my head, crossing my arms stubbornly. They don't understand. They just don't freaking _understand_.

"Fine, whatever," I roll over in bed, yanking the covers up over my head. "If you see him, tell him I say hey, would you?"

My sarcasm goes unchallenged, and one by one my friends climb into their own sleeping bags, and Zac turns of the lamp, plunging us into darkness.

I try to sleep, but I know without a doubt that any chance I had at snoozing was snatched away the second Aden was brought up. I don't sleep. I don't dream. I _drift._

-0-

Lucy Reed came from a family wildly different from her friends.

She wasn't the daughter of a Gym Leader, like Allie or Brewer. Nor had she practically been raised in a lab like Zac. She came from a different kind of family. One where you made your name with ribbons, not badges or data. And beauty and grace replaced courage and intelligence as the household values.

This is because the Reeds were Coordinators.

"Just be cool," Brewer tells her gently, glancing at her sideways.

"Cool. Right. Totally cool. Cucumber cool. Iceberg cool. Mt. Silver cool. Hailstorm cool. Articuno cool. Oh my God I'm going to puke," Lucy hastily tries to turn away from the doors, but Brewer catches her around the waist and hauls her back next to him.

"Easy, Luce. All you gotta do is walk in there, say thanks for the clothes, and leave." I remind her, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.

My best friend's face has gone from it's usually _Fun and Fancy Free _Lookto _I Can Think of Forty Different Places I'd Rather be Right Now _Look_._

Needless to say, she's panicking.

"Luce," Zac gently takes her thin hand in his. There's never really been any romance between the four of us (that crush I had on Zac when we were five _does not_ count) so I'm sure Lucy feels no shame when she converts the researcher's arm into a life preserver and clings to it like she's _drowning._

I roll my eyes at her theatrics, "Lucy Reed, get in there and thank them so we can get this show on the road."

True to her word, Lucy had called the Contest Hall first thing this morning to request in her nicest, sweetest, I'm-totally-not-taking-advantage-of-my-family's-name voice some new clothes for us.

Lucy's in a snazzy little skirt with a lilac long-sleeved T, and Zac's got on his typical khakis and white-T, but at least he's got a nice black sweater on over it. And, even though I want to kill myself for thinking it, Brewer looks _nice_. His scorching crimson t-shirt brings out hints of amber in his eyes, and a new Pokémon League hat is jammed over his raven hair.

I'm a sucker for baseball hats, ok? Sue me.

I adjust my own newest piece of attire; a jacket. It's snowy white with pale blue stripes down the arms, a large copy of the official Pokémon League emblem sewn onto the back, also in blue. I feel a little guilty about replacing my old black-and-yellow one though. It had been my last gift from Aden.

Lucy bites her lip, "Can't I just leave a note?" she squeaks.

She glances over her shoulder at me, and I meet her pleading stare firmly.

"Lucy, I love you, alright? You're my best friend, and I would never force you to do something you didn't want to do. However, if you do not thank them they will most definitely call your mother who will in turn most definitely update _my_ mother who will in turn tell Norman who will in turn most definitely come kick my sorry ass all the way back to Littleroot."

She sighs, slumping under the weight of my logic.

_So this is how she feels every time she talks me out of doing something..._I muse.

Steeling herself, Lucy squares her shoulders and marches into Verdantruf's Contest Hall.

-0-

"Why…Miss Reed!"

Lucy smiles weakly. "Er, hello Madame Herring," she says politely, curtsying to the head judge.

She nudges Zac, who hastily bows. "_Bonjour,"_ he says in what I assume is perfect French.

Madame completely ignores him, grabbing the Sinnoh girl by her shoulders. "Lucy…is that really you?" Her accent strikes me as distinctly Hearthome. Brewer had once had a girlfriend who spoke like that. Sort of broken French.

Lucy shrugs, looking utterly uncomfortable, "Yep. It's really me."

If you ask me, this Madame character was dressed like a clown. An oversized white sweater hangs like a dress over her black leggings. Her blonde corkscrew curls are piled atop her head in a loose bun and chic glasses rest on the bridge of her nose.

Strangely, no one ever seems to ask my advice on the latest fashion trends.

She spins suddenly, clapping her hands and causing everyone in the Hall's lobby to freeze. "Attention!" She calls, her curious accent ringing out. "We have a guest!"

Lucy's face turns scarlet, "Er…Madame that's really not—"

"Miss Lucy Reed," I glance over to see some woman has grabbed Lucy's free hand, and is shaking it earnestly. Which I guess wouldn't be a problem if the expression on my best friend's face didn't scram: _who the Hoothoot are you?_ "Your mother was my greatest inspiration. That routine she did in Lilycove? Magnificent."

Another woman bumps the first out of the way, claiming Lucy's attention. "Please, Paula's Lilycove show was nothing compared to what she did to win the Wallace cup a few years back. Remember the final trick she did with her Jynx? Who else could make Sheer Cold that graceful?"

A second woman pipes up, "Or how about her Altaria? Has anyone else managed to make Perish Song seem beautiful? She's a legend! A master!"

Lucy stands there awkwardly as the women continue to bicker. Guilt settles on my shoulders like some obscene Bird Pokémon. The poor girl. Finally, Zac clears his throat. "Excuse me!" he calls, trying to gain their attention. They ignore him completely.

"Her Ampharos is simply electrifying!"

"No, her Floatzel is the head of her team. No doubt."

"Have you seen the woman's Clefable? Mesmerizing."

I decide to take over.

_"Hey!"_ I shout, causing them to glance up in surprise. I smile, pleased, "Lucy's got something to say."

Thoroughly flushing, she stares at her shoes. "Ah, thank you for the clothes. That was very generous."

Madame pats her on her hand. "Oh, worry not, _cherí_. What's ours is yours."

One of the women, who I vaguely recognize as the one who had been so complimentary of Mrs. Reed's Jynx, slides over. She's got cropped dark hair, and her eyes are coal-black. She's beautiful, but I wouldn't exactly be keen on meeting her in a dark alley. She gives off a very _look but don't touch_ feeling.

"Miss Harper, what a pleasant surprise," she says, in a voice that isn't actively hostile but not really melting my heart either.

"Yeah, hi," I reply stiffly, eyeing the Pokémon at her side. It's a Ninetales. Breathtakingly beautiful, but oddly colored. I frown at it. Why is it white? Ninetales are tan.

"A Shiny," Zac's voice is awed.

I glance up at him, "'Scuse me?"

"A rare phenomenon when Pokémon appear in a unique color scheme," he explains quietly.

The woman smiles, "I see you've noticed Bianca here," she pats her Pokémon on its pure-white head. "She's my little angel."

I size the thing up, and decide _angelic _wouldn't be my first word choice. Elegant it may be, it looks like it'd bite my face off at the slightest provocation. It's eyes blaze a bright blue, matching the sapphire tints that brush the tips of its tails.

Gorgeous, yes. Something I'd willingly pet, no.

"Yeah, fantastic. Nice meeting you, now if you don't mind—" She cuts me off.

"If I may Miss Harper," the woman steps closer, and I can't stop myself as I feel my hand twitch toward Neptune's Pokéball. I don't like this. I don't like this at all. "I didn't know you were the traveling type," she raises her eyebrows questioningly.

"There's a first time for everything," I say, my voice paranoia is screaming at me to book it then and there, but with the crowd of Mrs. Reed's admirers still pressed against us, we're moving nowhere fast. To top it all off, I can't see any sign of my friends. I search the crowd, but soon my attention is drawn back to the mystery woman.

She arches a cool eyebrow, "Is that something your father is aware of?"

My eyes go cold, "I don't see how that's any of your business. And who the hell are you, anyway?"

She smiles again, that I'm-going-to-gut-you-like-a-fish grin, "Of course, how rude of me. My name is Courtney," she flashes a dazzling smile. "Trainer, Contest enthusiast, part-time gardener and," she holds up her arm, and I see a tattoo on her shoulder. My mind reels, I've seen that logo before. On the front of a certain red hood...

My eyes widen, I take a step back. "There's no way!" I whisper.

Courtney's coal-black eyes blaze, "Team Magma Administrator."

And then the lights go out.

Because this is _my_ life, right? And nothing can ever be freaking _easy._

-0-

A snarl comes from the Umbreon, his ears pinning back as the lights in the Pokécenter suddenly go out.

Aden glances around in surprise. "Hm. Power outage?" he asks the local Nurse Joy. She shrugs as the emergency lights come on, casting an eerie red glow across the Pokémon Master's face.

"I don't know. I wouldn't think so; Wattson's usually very diligent about these types of things. Besides, the Power Plant is cut off from the general public…I doubt anyone could get to it." She taps her chin anxiously. "However, many of the ill Pokémon here need that power to keep them healthy…oh, dear."

Aden pushes himself away from the counter. "Don't worry about it. I'll check it out." He clicks his tongue and his Umbreon obediently trots after him out of the Pokécenter.

-0-

_An hour earlier…_

"Ah, come on! How does Maxie expect us to do this? We're Team _Magma_. We don't _have_ Water-Types!"

The two bumbling Magma grunts, Kelly and Chris, face the reflective surface of the small lake just South of Mauville.

Kelly sighs dramatically, unclipping a Pokéball. "Honestly, why are you such a goody two-shoes? You need to live a little. Go, Sammy!"

In a flash of light, an adorable pint-sized Polliwag appears before them. "Polly?" he inquires, tilting his head in curiosity.

Chris recoils from the tiny Pokémon like he'd been slapped. "Kelly!" he protests, pointing. "That's totally against regulations! Water-Type Pokémon are strict—"

Kelly rolls her eyes, interrupting him, "Strictly prohibited, I know. But come on, Chris. Just look at him! He's completely adorable." The Magma grunt smiles and bends over. "Sammy, would you tow me to that island please?" She asks politely.

Chris frowns. "But…Kelly. That thing can only pull one of us."

Kelly tosses his a smart look over her shoulder as she wades into the water. "Yeah? Then I'd bust out the snorkel, partner."

-0-

_A half-hour earlier…_

Chris spits out a mouthful of lake water as Kelly steps primly off Sammy. "Thanks, darling." She says sweetly, recalling her Pokémon.

Glaring and dripping wet, Chris calls out his own Pokémon, a Slugma. "Hey, Sulgs, how 'bout a sunny day?"

With an affirmative gurgle, the sunlight brightened and Chris quickly wrings out his shirt, shorts and Magma hood.

The partners pause and glance at each other briefly before ducking inside the Mauville Power Plant.

* * *

**Hello once again, dear readers.**

**Confession time: my story and I got in a fight. I'm serious, it was all "hey, why don't you take the time to plan me out properly?" And I was like, "because I don't need to, I know what's going to happen I've been writing this story in my head for like a year now." And then the story was all, "yeah well your pacing sucks," and I was like "well, we can't be good at everything," and then the story said, "lol whatever I'm going to let you re-write the latest chapter six hundred times and let you hate every single version so much you don't copy and delete the whole thing at once but you just hold down the backspace button and watch the chapter vanish line by horrible line."**

**So yeah. That's basically the context this was written in. I got so frustrated with this thing. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't decide if I wanted to move forward with the plot, or play around with someone's backstory. After failing miserably on the first option (I swear to God I had Lucy seducing a Team Aqua member at one point until I finally realized I was losing my mind) and decided to give character development a whirl. So I did.**

**Oh and I introduced Courtney, my second favorite villain in the story. Sorry if it's a little confusing, hopefully I'll be able to straighten everything out in the next chapter. There ****_is_**** an ultimate plot, I swear. Just give me some time.**

**As for updates, those might be slowing down. Not because I'm lazy, but rather I want to put more thought into my chapters than what I've previously done. I'm thinking Wednesday and Sunday will probably be the two days I update a week. We'll see how well I can stick to that.**

**Leave a review, if that's your thing and you want to make me grin like an idiot in front of my family.**

**Love always,**

**-Duchess**


	12. Chapter 12

I don't think. I _run._

Panicked cries rise up from the Coordinators, but I push my way through them blindly, desperate to put as much distance between myself and the Magma Admin. and her creepy albino Ninetales as possible.

Though the electricity is most assuredly gone, it isn't pitch black. Light still streams in through the ornate windows that line the lobby, but not nearly enough for a klutz like me to see where I'm going. Couple that with the panic-rising-on-hysteria that's infecting the crowd, it's a small wonder I literally run smack into Brewer.

He catches my shoulders to keep me from falling on my face. "Allie!" his voice is concerned and his blue-black eyes rake my profile, as if looking for some sort of gaping wound. I grab his hand, towing him further into the crowd, searching for Lucy and Zac.

"What happened to that woman with the Shiny Ninetales?" he asks loudly, trying to be heard over the shouts of the crowd.

"She's a Magma Administrator!" I call back.

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, _of course_ she is," he mutters.

I allow a brief smirk to curve my lips at his comment, before pushing onward into the crowd.

-0-

"Chris, hurry! We don't have much—ah!" Kelly breaks off with a scream as she sees her path blocked by an Umbreon.

"My, my, my, what have we here?" Aden steps in carefully behind his loyal Pokémon. "Two Magma grunts. You two wouldn't happen to be behind Mauville's little power issue, now would you?"

Chris glares, taking a step protectively in front of his partner, raising his Slugma's Pokéball. "I'm not afraid of you!" he snaps.

Aden raises his eyebrows, "Really? Glad to hear it. Most people would call you brave for that." He spins a Pokéball in his hands, "I'd call you a moron."

"Aden Harper, I thought I smelled a Rattata."

The Pokémon Master smiles softly, "Mack. Long time no see. How's Maxie?"

The Hot Head steps in behind the Pokémon Master, smirking, "Just fine. And he'll be even better when he finds out we managed to nab both Harpers in one go."

Mack's huge, taller than even Aden who stands at a respectable six foot two, and buffer too. The Pokémon Master had always joked that despite his huge muscles, the thickest thing on him was his skull.

Aden narrows his eyes. "Both Harpers?" he asks calmly, inwardly reeling. What had happened to Allie? For God's sake he'd only left her alone for a day!

The Hot Head laughs, the sound echoing around the spacious cavern of New Mauville. "Oh, you didn't know? Your poor stupid sister is in Mauville as we speak, probably wandering around in the dark, getting ready to be kidnapped Courtney."

Aden clenched his fists. "You wouldn't touch her," he hisses, his sea green eyes flaring.

Mack guffaws, and Aden narrows his eyes, his back still facing the Magma Admin. "Wouldn't I? The Legends are walking, old buddy. You know that as well as I do. And as long as they're walking, we're going to need that dumb sister of yours."

Aden's eyes flip wide, then narrow to slits. "She's only sixteen, Mack!" he snarls, rounding on him and glaring up into the coal-black eyes of his old friend. "You think she has any idea about the kind of influence she has? Let alone a clue how to use it without blowing up a city? Without training, she's a time bomb."

Mack shrugs, smirking at the furious expression on Aden's face. "So she blows herself up. Whatever. I'd make a grunt clean up her guts."

Kelly promptly places a finger on her nose. "Nose goes," she hisses at Chris.

Norman's son raises a threatening finger at the Hot Head. "You just crossed the line," he snaps, "Assurance!"

The yellow circles on his Umbreon glow faintly as a pulsing purple hand materializes in front of Mack's Torkoal before slamming into the Coal Pokémon and sending it crashing into the wall.

"Slug! Poison Gas!" Chris calls, eagerly taking advantage of the Pokémon Master's distraction.

"Oh, not a chance, buddy. Laurea, psychic!" Britta dashes onto the scene, her lilac Espeon's violet eyes glowing faintly as she uses her powers to send the Slugma sprawling.

Aden twists to glare over his shoulder at the brunette as she stands back-to-back. "Britta! I told you to meet me at Lavaridge!" he snaps.

She rolls her eyes, unfazed. "And I told _you_, Aden dearest, that I wasn't leaving you alone in Mauville in a thousand years."

Mack rolls his eyes as his Torkoal climbs to its feet. "I came here to kick your ass, Harper. Not listen to you flirt with your girlfriend," he drawls, eliciting a snarl from the pair's Eeveelutions.

Britta leans around Aden to smile sweetly at the Hot Head, "Hi Mackenzie. Nice hood. I bet you have to beat girls off with a stick wearing that thing, hm?"

Mack sneers. "Wouldn't be too smug there, sweetheart. Your boyfriend's not much to brag about either."

Aden allows himself a brief smirk. "Someone sounds a little bitter, Mack," the Pokémon Master says slyly. "You're not still sore about the fact that Britta chose _me—_"

The Magma Administrator's face purples with rage. "Tork, body slam!" he roars, pointing at Aden's Umbreon.

"You _had_ to bring that up, didn't you?" Britta chides, giving him a stern look.

Aden just grins as his Umbreon steps lithely out of the path of the rampaging Torkal.

"Men," Britta grumbles, rolling her eyes.

-0-

"She's right behind us!" I cry, risking as glance over my shoulder.

My fears are confirmed: Courtney's hot on our heels.

"Brewer? Allie?" We stumble to a stop as Lucy and Zac appear before us.

"Don't ask, just run," I command, giving them a shove.

"Why am I so used to that phrase coming from you?" Zac mutters, as the four of us try to wade our way through the crowd to the doors.

"What's wrong? What are we running from?" Lucy asks. I swear she has to stop herself from adding _this time_ onto the end of her question.

"A Magma Admin. Explain later, make like a Ninjask now," I insist, throwing another anxious look over my shoulder.

"We'll never get through this crowd," Zac grumbles, elbowing his way past panicked coordinators.

Lucy's eyes light up. "The Competition Halls, there's another exit! Come on!" She pulls us in a new direction, away from the crowd to a small door which Zac and Brewer shoulder open, ushering us inside.

We race through the stands and over the stage, breezing past the empty judge's stand, guided by the faint red emergency lights to where a small pool of light streams in from the exit.

"Did she follow us?" I ask, preparing to turn when I hear the all-too-familiar sound of Brewer swearing.

"We've got bigger problems," my rival mutters. "Look!"

"The doors are automatic..." I whisper, staring.

"Meaning they run on electricity! We're trapped!" Lucy finishes, her eyes going wide with panic.

"Too right, you are."

We spin to face Courtney, who stands before us, her Ninetales at her feet.

I pull out Neptune's Pokéball, watching as my friends each follow suit, their faces fierce. The message is clear: We aren't going down without a fight.

She frowns, crossing her arms, looking at me with the air of a person examining a particularly confusing puzzle. "I don't get it," she mutters, frowning. "Why are you so opposed to Magma?"

"Because you're crazy!" I shout, "You and Aqua both! You just need to leave me and my friends _alone."_

Her eyes spark with interest. "You never heard the story...did you?"

"I'm not gonna—wait, what?" I break off my threat, frowning at the Magma Admin. "What story?"

Brewer's lips brush my ear, "She's playing you, Al. Hit her back!" he hisses.

A smile curves her lips. "Oh, I see now. It all makes sense," she chuckles. "Quite clever of him, I don't mind saying. Quite clever indeed. Oh, Maxie's going to _love _this."

"Who's Maxie?" I demand, stepping forward. "And what the hell are you talking about?"

She shakes her head, still grinning to herself. "Well, in that case Miss Harper, it would seem I don't need your assistance today. Come, Bianca. Mack and Maxie are waiting."

"Hey!" I shout, ignoring the shushing I receive from my three friends who were quite content with the retreating Magma Admin. "You think you can just march in here, chase us around a bit, mention something about some story and then leave?"

Courtney turns slightly, regarding me coolly over her shoulder. "Do you plan on stopping me?"

"No," Lucy interjects quickly, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. "No she does not."

I glare at her, yanking my arm out of her grasp. "I'm sick and tired of everyone knowing more than me!" I snap, rounding on the Hot Head. "I hate being left in the dark, so if there's some story that involves me, you better bet I'll fight you for it!"

Courtney is silent for a moment, before she slowly turns to face me. "You really want to know, don't you?" she muses, frowning at me. "Well, who am I to stem natural curiosity. Bianca, would you please?"

The Ninetales approaches me, her eyes blazing violet. Zac shouts a warning and I feel Brewer trying to pull me out of the way, but I'm so entranced by the Pokémon's once-cerulean eyes. "That's funny, they've gone all purple," I mutter stupidly, and then I feel my legs crumple and I'm falling...

-0-

A flash of pain flickers across Mack's face as the Hot Head is slammed into the rocky wall of New Mauville.

Aden grips his collar, holding him forcefully against the wall, while Britta stands off to the side, watching closely in case she has to intervene, one eye on the two Magma grunts who sit, defeated, in the corner.

"What is Magma's plan?" Aden growls, his eyes blazing as he glares at the bulky Admin.

Mack sneers, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

There's a resounding _crack_ as Aden knocks Mack's head against the stone. "Aden," Britta cautions, watching closely.

"Answer me!" The Pokémon Master shouts, his grip on Mack's collar tightening.

Mack gazes back at him. "You already know," the Hot Head says, his voice quiet but hot with rage. "You know, you've always known. You knew the second you rushed home that day Devon announced they'd received the fossil and your little sister was gone you _knew._" Aden is silent, his expression furious.

"You knew when you heard she'd been attacked by Archie, and saved by Steven Stone that it was happening. And when you found out Norman had allowed her to go to Dewford it was all you could do to keep from sweeping into your father's Gym and confronting him right then and there, oh you _knew._"

The Magma Admin's eyes blaze into those of his old friend, who wore and expression that could have been carved from stone. "How close were you, Aden? When Samantha de Luca had her cornered in the Trick House, how close were you from taking off for Sootopolis, huh? Because I bet it was pretty damn close." No one makes a sound, everyone hanging onto every word coming out of the Hot Head's mouth.

"Oh, and you were scared. I'd bet every last penny that stands in my name you were scared out of your mind. It was happening, that day you'd been dreading for the last five years of your life. Here it was and you, Aden Harper, the very face of power, even _you_ couldn't stop it."

Mack leaned in close, and even though Aden held him pinned against the wall, it was clear who was in control of the situation now. "And you know what else, old pal? _She_ knows too. Allie. Sure, she doesn't know quite how everything pieces together, and yeah, she may not understand why Magma and Aqua are hounding her at every turn, and I doubt she's got a clue about the role she'll eventually play, but if you think she's content to sit back, clueless, you obviously don't know your sister that well. She knows about the Eon Tablet, and you know as well as I do that if she ever gets her hands on the second half of that legend, everything, and I mean _everything_ ends."

Slowly, Aden's grip slackens, until Mack is able to break free of it, and pushes the Pokémon Master back, standing on his feet. "Look at your face!" The Hot Head crows, pointing at Aden's stunned expression. "Man, and you always called _me_ dumb," he shakes his head, grinning.

He turns to leave, beckoning to the two grunts, before Aden speaks: "Mack."

The Hot Head turns, glancing back smugly. "Oh? Got something to say?" he asks, arrogance ringing out in his voice. "Well let's hear it."

Norman's son stares at the ground. "You may be right, Mack. All that stuff...I did know. I always knew. Maybe I was too scared to admit it." The Pokémon Master raises his eyes then. "But if you think, for even a _second_, that I'm going to sit back and watch you hurt my sister, you're wrong. Dead wrong. Because I don't care about Magma, or Aqua, or even Team Rocket. I don't care about the Gym Leaders, or Hoenn's Elite Four, and Steven Stone can go take a long walk off a short pier for all I care."

His voice was rising, and the power between the two men shifted once more as Mack took a small step back while Aden advanced.

"She hates you," Mack hisses, a last desperate attempt to reclaim control of the conversation. "You don't have any idea the stories Norman told her, if she ever saw you again she'd probably spit."

But Aden just smirks, shaking his head. "Yeah? Then I guess we're a bit overdue for a little chat, huh?" He folds his arms confidently. "Face it, Mack. No matter how much she may dislike me, we're family. And if Norman ever taught us anything, it was that blood runs thicker than water, and heaven help you when we finally team up because there is no power on this _earth_ that can stop us then."

Aden Harper grins, pulling his ball cap low to his eyes. "The Legends may be walking, Mack. But they don't stand a chance if Allie and I are running to meet them."

-0-

Cold.

I'm cold, freezing! Geez, who turned on the A/C? I give a shuddering breath, trying to focus. Okay, I'm not really in pain, just really, really, abnormally cold. Like someone locked me in a freezer kind of cold. Like Mt. Silver kind of cold. Like freaking Shoal Cave kind of cold. And while that might be cool for the Spheals there, I wasn't digging it.

I glance around, and see I'm in some sort of cavern. Lava pools in corners of the room, which doesn't exactly add up to the goosebumps on my arms but whatever. I feel slow, sluggish. Like I'm being weighed down by something. Every once in a while, the walls of the cavern with shimmer, like it wasn't all there. I rub my temples, what the Hoothoot is going on?

I hear a door open and look up to see a man step out onto the highest cliff. He's got shoulder-length hair that's fire engine red, and an ornate shirt patterned with flames. A Mightyena stands at his side, and I feel panic bubble up in my chest as he sweeps his gaze along the ground. He's going to see me! Then what am I going to say?

Excuses flash through my mind, but somehow I don't think he's going to buy the whole, _a crazy lady used her albino Ninetales to transport me here, not weird, right? By the way, do you mind turning up the heat? It's freezing in here. Yes, I know there's lava right over there, it's still too damn cold._

To my amazement, the man doesn't give me a second glance, and his gaze passes over me without a glimmer of interest. Stunned, I consider yelling to get his attention, but before I can, I hear footsteps. I whirl to face the sound, and see three figures entering the cavern. I'm about to say something, when my eyes fall upon the man standing in the middle.

_Aden._

Aden. Aden Harper. My brother is here, in the weird, limbo-thing that I'm trapped in and not only is he here, but he is wearing a _red Magma hood. _

Please, please, _please_ tell me this is some sort of parallel universe where hot is cold and my brother's apart of Team Magma.

My mind positively reeling, I run up to him, and get another unpleasant surprise as I see the woman walking beside him is none other than Courtney. I stand right in front of him, but his gaze doesn't leave the face of the man with the Mightyena.

_"Aden!"_ I shout, but he doesn't even blink. I stand there, stunned, as the trio approaches, finally passing right through me. My eyes widen. This isn't real. I'm not actually here.

This is a flashback.

I want to fall over with the weight of all this new information. Can Ninetales even _do_ that? I know Zac always said the elegant Fox Pokémon was a ridiculously intelligent and very powerful creature, but he never said anything about them being able to send people _back in time._

I turn, watching helplessly as the three approach a flat piece of rock, like a pedestal. Courtney and the other guy, who I don't recognize but is probably body-builder of some sort, stand to the side, while my brother mounts the pedestal.

"Aden Harper," the man with the Mightyena calls. "Do you swear, on all that you hold dear, to serve us, Team Magma, in our honorable quest to expand the world's landmass and awaken the mighty Groudon?"

_Say no, say no, say no, say no_, I think desperately.

"I do," my brother answers clearly.

The man nods, "Very well, then. Mack? Courtney?"

The two others hop onto the dais next to my brother. Courtney rolls his up his sleeve, while the one called Mack who had enough muscles to shame a Machoke, pulls out some sort of branding tool. It's a long stick with an emblem on the end. They used tools like that to brand the Miltanks at Grandpa Harper's farm out in Johto.

Except, on Granddad's farm, they brand them with the letter _M_. The one Mack holds bears the Magma insignia on the end.

I can't watch, yet am unable to look away as Mack dips the brand in a nearby lava pool and then lifts it out, the black metal glowing white-hot. I watch, transfixed, as the tool gets closer and closer to my brother's exposed shoulder. Right before it touches him, I throw my hands over my eyes, unable to keep watching.

To his credit, my brother doesn't make a sound, and I peek between my fingers to see Mack has lowered the brander, and Aden is examining the new Magma logo burned into his skin.

"Then welcome, Aden. Our new Magma Administrator," the man with the Mightyena announces grandly.

I can't take it anymore. I can't watch anymore of this. I race to the nearest lava pool with every intention of throwing myself into it with hopes of either getting me out of this nightmare or at least defrosting me because the temperature had easily dropped another sixty degrees.

Right before my feet leave the ground, though, a familiar pair of violet eyes appear before me, and again I'm falling.

-0-

I wake to the sound of fighting, swearing, and crying.

Not my favorite combination.

I crack open and eye to see I'm lying with my face in the carper. Fabulous. I sit up, spitting to get the red fibers out of my mouth, and look around. I'm covered in a clammy, cold sweat, which feels positively disgusting. I see a flash of flame and a spout of water and look over to see Zac and Brewer are battling Courtney and Bianca. Well, that would explain the fighting and swearing at least.

The crying, or so I assume, is from Lucy who is sitting beside me with tears streaming down her cheeks. I groan.

"Ugh, _Luce_, we've been over this a hundred times. If you cry around me, I am most likely going to leave the room. I don't _do_ tears," I complain to my friend, though I'm on the verge of breaking down myself.

She gasps, looking down at me. _"Allie!" _she chokes, her eyes going wide. "You're okay!"

"I wouldn't say that," I mutter, climbing precariously to my feet. "_Not dead_ would be the most positive thing I have to say for my condition at the moment." My eyes fall upon Zac and Brewer's battle. It's intense, more intense than I'd ever seen any of them fight. Zac's using Snips, his unusually small Dratini to keep the Ninetales on her toes, using a series of hit-and-run tactics that enrage the Shiny Pokémon, while Brewer follows up with a full-on Water onslaught with Gale.

"Who's winning?" I ask shortly, unable to tell with the speed of the battle.

Lucy swallows, "Courtney's an Admin. for a reason, Al," she says softly, her statement punctuated as Bianca finally hits Gale a furious stream of fire. Water Pokémon or not, Gale goes flying.

She turns to me, her eyes creased with concern. "What did she do to you, Allie? You sort of fell over and started shaking."

I bite my lip, not in the mood to recount my experience in Bianca's dream world. I wasn't exactly ready to accept it myself.

"Nothing," I grumble, pulling out Neptune's Pokéball. "She just played with my head and she's going to pay the price. Go, Neptune!" My Mudkip appears in a flash of white light. "Kip?" he quires tensely, seeming to have picked up on my mood instantly.

"Oh, look who's finally awake!" Courtney calls, smirking as her Ninetales takes out Snips with a burst of fire that catches the Dragon Pokémon off-guard. "How was your dream, sweetheart?"

I'm shaking. I can feel it. I don't think I've ever been this angry in my life. Not just at Courtney or her stupid Ninetales, but at Norman for keeping this from me, and at Aden for...for _existing._

"You're a filthy liar," I snarl at her, in a voice that is purely ice and poison.

She arches an eyebrow, "Oh? Does the truth smart a bit?"

I throw my hands in the air. "That wasn't the truth!" I shout. "That was a _lie_. There's no way that happened. You're trying to throw me off and it's _not_ going to work!"

To my surprise, it's Zac who speaks up.

"Al," he says gently, his hazel eyes filled with apology as he gazes at me. "Ninetales don't have the power to create false memories. They can only mirror what they know. If she showed you something, it happened."

Courtney smiles, "Very good, Professor Birch," she says sweetly, making my hands curl into fists. "Bianca was only letting you in on a little secret. You said you wanted to hear the story, didn't you?"

"You're a monster," I whisper.

She throws back her head and laughs, "Oh, you. I'm so glad Maxie's taken an interest in you. You're naivety is _so_ entertaining." She recalls her Ninetales, offering a brief wave, "Bye for now, little Miss Harper. I have a feeling we'll meet again soon." And she waltzes out of the room.

For a moment, it's silent. Brewer and Zac check on their Pokémon, while Lucy does her best to calm me down.

"What did she show you, Allie? Come on, you can tell me." I glance at her, my very best friend, and I sigh.

"Later, please," I say, my voice catching. "I don't...I can't talk about it right now."

She nods with understanding, and the four of us stand, facing each other.

"You alright?" Brewer asks, examining me closely.

I nod, forcing a smile. "Of course I'm alright. Just a crazy Magma Admin, all in a day's work for us, right?"

Brewer stares me down as the four of us begin to walk back into the main lobby of the Contest Hall. "Is alright some sort of Allison Harper slang for not alright at all?" He asks in a low voice, giving me a knowing look.

I glance up at him, my mouth popping open with surprise, but he only gives me a sort of half-smile that doesn't touch his eyes, putting his arm around my shoulder, "Because in that case, I'm alright too."

"We're all alright," Zac mutters, as he turns to glance back at us. "It's your choice Allie. Still want to get that tablet from Wattson?"

I stare at the three of them. My three very best friends. I so very nearly tell them then. The image of my brother with the red Magma hood burns vividly in my mind. But I can't.

"Yeah," I say, nodding firmly. "Magma and Aqua...they're going to keep chasing us no matter what, so we might as well know why they are. And the only way we're going to do that is if we get the rest of the Eon Tablet."

Lucy steps forward. "I'm game," she says, crossing her arms like she's daring one of us to question her.

"Same," Brewer says causally, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Right," Zac says, his brow furrowing. "All we need is a plan."

* * *

**Holy Honchkrow. Intense much?**

**I really, really like dialogue. That's probably my favorite part of writing, the banter between my characters. I was grinning like an idiot the whole time I was writing Mack's speech, because that's so my thing.**

**Anyway, anyone see the whole Aden-used-to-be-apart-of-Team-Magma thing coming? Hopefully not, I like to keep you guys on your toes. The thing I really like about this chapter is how Allie and Aden do a whole switch-a-roo thing where up until then Allie really wanted to see Aden, and he was trying to stay away, and now they've totally flipped where Aden's going to come try and connect with Allie and she'll most likely punch him if he comes too close.**

**Also, I got a suggestion to list the characters and their Pokémon, since I'm introducing so many so fast, so here it is. The character's hometown is also listed next to their name. Zac, Brewer and Lucy all have more Pokémon than this, but these are the ones that have been introduced so far. As more get introduced, I'll add to the list.**

_Allie Harper_ - Littleroot, Hoenn

-Eevee: Allie's first Pokémon, Eevee is unwaveringly loyal to her Master. Eevee doesn't have an official nickname but sometimes will be called Eve for short. Allie has said nothing on the subject of evolving her.

-Neptune: A cheerful Mudkip with a clownish personality. Allie thought it was wild and tried to catch it, but it turns out he had just snuck out of Prof. Birch's lab. He likes to mud slap people he's fond of.

-Skyler: A fierce Taillow with a fiery temper whom Allie tried (and failed) to catch. She now is quite loyal.

_Ryan Brewer_ - Saffron City, Kanto

-Ace: Brewer's first Pokémon, Ace is a tough, loyal and proud Growlithe. He never backs down from a challenge and is always ready to spring into action.

-Gale: A calm and cool Psyduck who finds battles a chore. Unlike most of his kind, Gale isn't dopey or dumb, but actually sharply intelligent and calculating.

-Captain: A Pidgey with a militaristic mindset. He gets worked up very easily and is difficult to calm down once he gets going.

_Zac Birch_ - Littleroot, Hoenn

-Castform: A rare Pokémon that Zac received from the Hoenn Weather Institution on the promise he'd study the effects it has on different areas. The other characters call him Blobby, much to Zac's dislike.

-Sheldon: A Shieldon Zac's father revived from a fossil. He is steadfast and solid, bringing the brute force to Zac's team.

-Snips: And unusually small Dratini Zac came across in Johto when he was a child. Snips is small but quick, making him a tough target to hit.

_Lucy Reed_ - Hearthome, Sinnoh

-Daisy: A pompous and haughty Glameow. On her mother's request, Lucy makes her wear an Everstone, which she has conflicted feelings about. While decidedly brat-like in behavior, Daisy is no slouch when it comes to battling.

-Hera: A kind-hearted Swablu Lucy caught when she first arrived in Hoenn. Hera is graceful and compassionate towards other Pokémon.

_Aden Harper_ - Littleroot, Hoenn

-Umbreon: A loyal Pokémon if there ever was one, Aden's Umbreon can fight even without his Master's orders. His nickname has yet to be revealed.

_Britta Dysart_ – Ecruteak City, Johto

-Laurea: An Espeon with a knack for Psychic moves. Britta uses her sometimes to confuse and dazzle others.

_Courtney_ - Magma Admin.

-Bianca: A Shiny Ninetales who is elegant and dangerous. She is capable of many psychic powers, including showing others visions of the past.

_Mack_ – Mama Admin.

-Tork: A Torkal who is known for dumb muscle.

_Kelly_ – Magma Grunt

-Sammy: A Poliwag Kelly has illegally. She thinks it's adorable.

_Chris_ – Magma Grunt

-Slug: A Slugma Chris received when he joined up.

**I hope this helps.**

**Leave a review, if that's your thing, and I'll see you all again on Wednesday!**

**Heart,**

**-Duchess**


	13. Chapter 13

Lauera senses her first.

The Espeon lifts her head, her lips pulling back in a delicate snarl, her violet eyes searching the darkness. Britta glances up with concern. "Lauera?" she asks, crouching beside her Pokémon. "What's up, babe?"

Out of the shadows steps Courtney, her Shiny Ninetales at her side.

Britta's on her feet in a flash, her eyes narrowing. "Courtney," she growls, clenching her fists.

Courtney smiles sweetly while Bianca and Lauera trade vicious looks. "Well, if it isn't Britta Dysart. It's been ages, how's mom and dad?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," the brunette hisses, her russet eyes flaring.

Aden steps in beside her, crossing his arms. "You're too late, Court. The party's over; Mack and a couple of grunts already hightailed in out of here."

The Hot Head just smirks, taking a few steps closer. "Oh, I know that. I just wanted to come by and let you know you might as well give up now."

The Pokémon Master's eyes narrow, "Pardon?"

"Mack said you were kidnapping Allie," Britta says sharply.

Courtney nods earnestly, "Oh I was," she agrees, watching as Bianca and Lauera begin to circle each other. "But then she unintentionally let slip some vital information."

"What information?" Aden asks slowly.

The woman giggles, beginning to pace. "She's a tough one, your sister," Courtney says idly, examining multiple pipes and valves that line the wall. "And that Ryan Brewer, he's no slouch either. Oak may be right, Aden, he may just dethrone you." She gives the Pokémon Master a dazzling smile over her shoulder.

"What information?!" Britta shouts.

Courtney's smile turns sour. "Impatient thing, aren't you? Fine, your dear sister informed me of the reason she hates Team Magma."

Britta frowns, "And just how is that vital? Al's not a criminal, and you guys are harassing her at every turn. Of course she'll hate you."

"She doesn't know," Aden's voice is a strangled whisper.

Britta faces him, alarmed at his tone. "Aden?" she asks, looking up at him. "What's wrong?"

"You told her!" he roars, and tries to rush the Hot Head, but stops when Bianca leaps in front of him, snarling viciously. Aden's Umbreon comes out of nowhere, taking a stand before his master, snapping his jaws threateningly. A low hiss escapes the Ninetales's locked teeth, as the Umbreon bares his teeth.

Courtney smiles smugly, "Of course I told her. She was so desperately hanging onto the hope that maybe you weren't so bad after all. Good thing Bianca and I set her straight, hm?"

"You didn't have to do that," Britta's voice was fierce as she took a step forward, hesitating when Bianca turned her ferocious gaze on her, a shrill bark coming from the pure-white For Pokémon. "No matter how much you resent Aden, his history with Magma has nothing to do with the Legends, or Allie."

Courtney sneers, "Of course it does, you idiot," she snarls. "It's all connected. The fewer supporters Allie has, the easier she'll be to take down."

Aden was seething. "You'll pay for that," he growls, his hands clenched tightly.

The Magma Admin smirks, "We'll see, Aden darling, we'll see." And with a click of her tongue and a turn of her heel, she vanished back into shadow, her Ninetales following.

-0-

I don't _do_ sulky.

Yeah, I've got a temper that can match Mt. Chimney when you rile me up, and granted, sometimes I'm so sarcastic I surprise even myself. I can throw a tantrum like nobody's business if you rub me the wrong way, and I may just be the worst comforter this side of Kanto.

But _sulky?_

Not my thing.

At least, that's what I'm trying to convince myself of.

"It's not _fair,_" I say sharply for the hundredth time, crossing my arms and trying really, really hard to keep the whine out of my voice. I'm not childish—seriously. They're just being cheap.

"It's the most logical choice, Allie," Zac says tiredly, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "We've been over this."

"Don't you try to drag logic into this, Zachary," I warn him, glowering. "You're being unfair and you know it."

"Allie, come on, we're not trying to be mean," Lucy says, attempting to look stern. The resulting facial expression is amusing. If I don't do sulky, Lucy definitely doesn't do demanding. She tries, but when you get right down to it, Lucy is just really a mother-hen, obsessing over every little hiccup. "The fact is Brewer is a better battler than you. That's just the cold hard truth."

Surprisingly, or maybe because he just doesn't want an invitation to get his head bitten off by yours truly, Brewer's remained silent throughout our discussion. We're on our way back to Mauville to try and steal this tablet from Wattson. We'd come up with an idea that honestly wasn't that half-bad when you consider the fact that _we'd_ been the ones to come up with it.

And by _we_ I mean Zac Birch, with occasional help from Brewer.

Anyway, our plan required one person to play the part of the distraction. Someone to pose as a challenger and keep Wattson busy why the other three went about the business of finding the tablet.

Naturally, they had both picked Brewer.

And I wasn't digging it.

"Neptune's the best choice," I argue. "He knows mud slap! What's Brewer got?" I tick off my fingers as we pass by the Day-Care Center. "Let's see, Gale. A water-type. _Nope._ Captain. A flying-type. _Uh-uh. _Ace. A fire-type. _Nadda."_

"Wattson uses Magnemite," Zac points out. "That's a steel-type. Ace would have an advantage."

I throw my hands in the air, "Ground is effective against steel too! And what's Ace gonna do when Wattson sends out his Voltorb, huh?"

Brewer's voice is quiet, "Good Trainers don't have to have a type advantage to win matches, Allie," he murmurs as we approach Mauville's Gym.

I whirl to face him, but before I can test my theory of my cast's rock-hard plaster coating against his thick skull, I hear Zac swear under his breath,

"It's no good," the researcher says with a frown, reading a note posted on the doors of the Gym. "Wattson's out."

_"Out?" _I repeat, looking up at the note. "What do you mean, _out?"_

"He's probably trying to fix the electricity," Lucy muses. "Kind of embarrassing, isn't it? A town with an electric-type Gym Leader loses power?"

Zac frowns, his eyes narrowing, his mind probably working a million miles an hour. "It wasn't an accident," he says slowly.

Brewer tosses him a look. "Foul play?" my rival inquires.

"That's my guess. Magma or Aqua," he crosses his arms, looking thoughtful.

I'm not sold. "That's ridiculous," I say, hands on my hips. "Why would they do something like that? Go to all the trouble of cutting off a city's power just to corner us?" I examine the faces of my friends, "I consider myself an expert on crazy. And _that_ is crazy."

Lucy nods, "Allie's right. Courtney didn't even _do_ anything."

"She showed Allie something," Brewer says, shooting me a glance, "A vision."

I give him a warning look. "Don't play that game with me, Ryan Brewer," I caution.

"It isn't a game, it's a question," he says firmly. "And I think we have a right to know."

"Drop it," Zac advises, his hazel eyes still trained on the door.

Brewer flashes him a look of annoyance, but turns away from me. "Fine," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What should we do then?"

Lucy shrugs, slumping up against the side of the Gym. "What _can_ we do? I don't even know where the power plant _is."_ Zac's eyes light up and he opens his mouth, but the blonde place a firm hand over his mouth, a warning in her sapphire eyes. "And even if we _did_," she says, still giving him a don't-you-even-think-about-it-Zac-Birch look, "I doubt Wattson would appreciate it very much if we just waltzed on in. We're going to be polite and wait." She promptly takes a seat, accenting her point.

Sighing, I slide to the ground next to my best friend, tossing out my three Pokéballs at once. With a shrug, Zac claims the spot beside Lucy, leaving Brewer to sit adjacent to the one person who wanted to pummel him for his snarky comments and cocky attitude.

Hint: it's me.

"I didn't mean to pry," he mutters, not looking at me, stroking Captain's feathers as his Pidgey sits on his knee, his beady eyes taking in the bustling streets of Mauville. The power outage seems to have drawn many people out of their houses and into the afternoon sun. They stand in the streets, conferring in low tones.

"It's whatever," I reply indifferently, watching as Neptune and Ace give chase to a wild Poochyena, Skyler watching with rapt attention from her roost atop the Gym's roof. Eevee just snoozes in my lap while I run my fingers over her long ears.

The thing is, I _want_ to tell him. I mean, yeah, Lucy is hands down my very best friend, but if I told her what I'd seen, she'd freak. She'd start rambling about some nonsense she'd probably seen on TV and fret over me for the next eighteen weeks and inform every adult in a five-mile radius of my problem. And it's not like that's _bad_, in fact when you compare it to the way _I_ handle problems, it's probably a lot better. But...I didn't _want_ to be fawned over.

Zac, easily the most intelligent out of all of us, could probably break down everything I tell him and come up with a very concise, accurate, and reasonable conclusion. Again, not a bad idea. But his response to people's dilemmas is so cold and detached. He's not being cruel, not at all; his brain is just programmed to treat everything like data. And well, data doesn't have feelings. Whereas I, an overly-emotional sixteen year-old, have more feelings than I know what to do with.

So that left Brewer. My rival. And while the guy could grind my nerves like nobody else, he's the one most like me. He's certainly not a mother-hen like Lucy, and he doesn't have all the answers like Zac. He's smart, but his intellect doesn't exactly surpass mine, and we have the same sort of beat-everyone-up-ask-questions-later-if-at-all mentality. Just a pair street-smart Leader's kids. I take a deep breath.

"Neptune, get back here," I call, though the tiny blue Pokémon hadn't really strayed more than six feet. I give Brewer's sleeve a meaningful tug and stand, striding off after the Mudkip.

"Ace, where you going, buddy?" my rival asks loudly, climbing to his feet and following me to the sandy shores of Route 118.

-0-

"Magma, huh?" Brewer bites his lip, bracing his arms on the fence, "That sucks."

I snort, leaning my back against the fence, braiding a strand of hair. "Helpful," I tell him, rolling my eyes.

We're standing on the beach of Route 118, and I'd just finished recounting the flashback I'd seen in the Contest Hall of my brother joining Team Magma.

My rival is silent for a long time. "Why do you hate him, Al?" he asks softly. I narrow my eyes, _him,_ of course, being Aden.

I sigh, letting go of my hair and staring at my shoes. "You know why, Brewer," I say.

I feel his gaze without seeing it. "I know why _Norman_ hates him," he clarifies. "But I don't think I've ever heard your side of it."

I swear under my breath, _why_ did I think this would be a good idea? "Son of a _Beedrill_, Brewer, there aren't _sides!"_ I push myself away from the fence, pacing. "There is the truth, and there is the lie. Nothing else. No middle ground, no gray area. It's cut and dry."

Brewer just chuckles, turning to face me and leaning lazily against the fence. "You don't believe that," he says quietly.

I scowl at him, crossing my arms. "Yeah? Well what do you know?" I snap.

He raises an eyebrow. "I know you," he says simply. "And I know you well enough to know that it's a damn lie when you say you take every word Norman has to say about your brother as the honest to God truth because we both know it's not."

I slump under the weight of his logic. Why have I been feeling lately like everyone knows me but myself?

"Tell me again," Brewer requests in a voice so gentle I have to look up into his blue-black eyes to be sure it's actually my rival speaking.

"He left," I mutter, kicking at the sand. _Articulate, much?_

Brewer nods, "I remember. On your eleventh birthday."

I swallow hard, staring up at the sky. "He just left. Not a word to anyone. He didn't even tell his friends. He just took his bag, his bike and his Pokémon and just set out."

My rival's voice is quiet. "But he came back," he murmurs.

I nod, glancing out at the glittering blue ocean. "Yep, three years later he came skipping right on home with eights shiny badges, six fantastically strong Pokémon and an ego the size of Mt. Moon."

Brewer snorts at my analogy, "So, what? He just bragged about his accomplishments?"

I give him a long look. "Come on, Brew Crew. You think I'm shallow enough to dislike someone just because they're better than me?"

His eyebrows skyrocket, and when I don't recant my statement, he start counting off fingers. "Roxanne, Sam de Luca, Shelly the Aqua Admin, Courtney, _me_..."

"Alright, alright," I flap him quiet. "That's not why I dislike _Aden."_

He stares at me, "Then why do you?" he asks.

I can't seem to look away from those blue-black eyes. "He asked me to come," I say softly.

Brewer blinks. I'd never told him this bit. "Sorry?" he says, looking surprised.

"He asked me to go with him," I repeat. "He...he said he needed me. He said _Hoenn_ needed me. He snuck back into my room one night, after mom and dad were asleep and all but begged me to come with him."

"What did you say?" Brewer asks, frowning.

"No. Obviously," I reply.

His eyes narrow. "Why?" he asks. "You've always wanted to travel."

"I was so close," I murmur, shaking my head at the memory. "So freaking close to saying yes," I snort, brushing hair out of my eyes. "It's funny, the one time I actually stopped and thought things through, everything went to hell."

"What happened?" Brewer questions, crossing his arms.

I shrug, sighing. "I asked him why. Why did Hoenn need me? Why was it so important I go? Why had he never written back, or even bothered to say goodbye?" I laugh humorlessly, glancing at my rival. "And you know what the bastard told me?"

He shakes his head.

I close my eyes, hearing my brother's voice from all those years ago.

"He said I was just like Norman," the bitterness in my voice is tangible, I swear. "He said I was sheltered, I was babied. I'd grow up a wimpy, defenseless kid always going crying to her Gym Leader father for everything. 'If you were really brave,' he said, 'you'd come.'" I shake my head at the memory, "He called me a failure." I swallow hard. "Which, you know what? I could have lived with. No, it didn't really tickle me pink that my brother shows up after three years of silence and all but calls me a _loser_, but I would have gotten over it. It was what he said after that. _That's_ why I cannot _stand_ Aden Harper."

"And what did he tell you?" Brewer asks softly, with the slightest air of someone who already knew.

My eyes blaze into the sand. "He said power is more important than anything. More important than friends, more important than family, and more important than, to use his words, 'a useless, cowardly sister too scared to walk six feet without a first-aid kit and a Chansey.'" My voice burns with regret. I can hear it, and so can Brewer. That last line was something of a catchphrase of mine. I'd never told anyone where I'd originally heard it.

It's silent for a moment.

Brewer looks up at me. "That's why the whole 'sheltered child' thing..." he begins.

"Really hits home," I finish, nodding, "Yep."

Before I quite know what's happening, he's stretched out an arm and has pulled me into his side in a sort of one-armed hug. "You know what?" he says, holding me against him. "Anyone who's got the guts to stand up for what they believe, even if that means passing up a badge, or accepting second place, is brave in my book."

I roll my eyes. "Please, don't start," I say, smirking and shoving him away.

He laughs and releases me. "Ah, you're right. Still zero badges. That doesn't make you a coward, Al. Just a second-rate Trainer."

I snort, punching him in the shoulder. "Yeah, _that_ makes me feel better."

"You know what?" Brewer says after a while, glancing sideways at me as we sit side-by-side on the fence. "You don't need him anyway. You've got me, you've got Zac and you've got—" he breaks off as a scream echoes from Mauville.

"Lucy!" I shout, taking off, Brewer on my heels.

-0-

In retrospect, we really should have seen it coming.

Yeah, Zac was smart, but it's not like he had the highest IQ on the planet. To assume that nobody else would figure out the tie between the fossil at Devon Corp and the missing half of the Eon Duo tablet was simply naïve. Worse, it was currently causing Lucy a great deal of pain.

"Lucy!" the researcher shouts, thrashing against the burly arms of the blue-bandana clad man who held him back.

Lucy grits her teeth, pulling against the grip of another large man bearing a bandana.

"Settle down, sweetheart," her captor, a tall man with a cruel face, coos, holding her close.

"Let her _go!" _Zac bellows, still tugging uselessly against his own captor.

The man laughs, wrapping his arms around Lucy. "Aw, don't get so worked up, Birchy boy. We'll take good care of your girlfriend." He smirks at the research, who is positively seething.

"Lucy! Zac!" Brewer and I burst out onto the scene, taking everything in as fast as we can.

A handful of blue-bandana clad baddies fill the streets, the most prominent being two huge guys holding Zac and Lucy, and the third, a woman with bushy red hair, fiddling with the doors to the Gym.

"Aqua," Brewer says stiffly, his eyes raking the scene.

I roll my eyes. "Brilliant detective work, I knew there was a reason we kept you around," I reply dryly.

He shoots me a peeved look, but his eyes flash back to issue at hand. "You get Zac, I'll get Luce," he says tersely.

I nod, "Alrighty, up and at 'em, Eve!" I shout, and my Pokémon pounces forward, growling. I watch as Brewer reaches for a Pokéball at his belt.

"Duke, I choose you!" Brewer calls, throwing the capsule system to the ground. In a flash of white light, my rival's Nidorino stands firmly before him, pawing at the ground, his amber eyes ablaze, ready to battle. I turn my attention to the man holding Zac.

He's large, really large. With a thick black beard and huge muscles.

"Well howdy do, Zac Attack," I say, stepping forward, Eevee growling at my feet. "Bit of a pickle you're in, hm?"

He's not amused, "Get me out of here, Allison Harper," he growls, his tawny eyes furious.

I look back to Big and Burly Bandana Boy. "And just who are you supposed to be?" I ask, cocking my hip and arching an eyebrow.

The man sneers, tightening his grip on Zac, who seems much more concerned with Lucy than himself which is really cute, but a slight mix up on priorities. "Name's Matt, punk," he says, reaching for a Pokéball at his belt. "And if you think you're gonna skip on out of here, you got another think coming. Go, Wingull!"

The Seagull Pokémon bursts out of the capsule system, letting loose an ear-splitting shriek. Eve and I wince.

"Allie, shut that thing up!" Brewer snaps, and I twist to glare at him over my shoulder.

"Focus on your own stinking battle!" I retort, catching a glimpse of Duke firing poison barbs at the other man's Azumarill before turning back to my own fight.

"Alright, tough guy. You want a dogfight? I'll give you a dogfight." I call back Eevee, hurling a different Pokéball to the ground, "You're up, Sky!"

My Taillow flies gracefully from her Pokéball, soaring upward to where the Wingull was waiting. "Skyler, wing attack!" I call, watching as she works up two funnel clouds with her wings and sends them hurling at the Wingull, who takes the attack right in the face, sending him spiraling downward.

I grin, punching the air, "Atta girl! Finish off that loudmouth, huh?"

Taking careful aim, the Taillow tucks in her wings, plunging into a steep nose-dive. She streaks through the air before snapping out her wings and throwing her momentum into her extended talons. The Tiny Swallow Pokémon's aim is true, and she grips the Wingull tightly, sending her foe crashing into the ground.

"Knockout," I declare with a smug grin, as Skyler flutters back to my shoulder, leaving the Wingull in the dirt.

The victorious feeling lasts about negative three seconds, as the woman who had been fumbling with the doors suddenly gasps, as the Gym's automatic doors hiss open. She turns to glance over her shoulder, and I catch a glimpse of her face, and every rational thought in my mind is shorted out.

And in my mind? Those are hard to come by.

"Shelly!" I shout, taking off after her.

"Hey!" The guy named Matt yells. Taking advantage of his distraction, Zac lands an excellent elbow jab in the Aqua man's gut, loosening his grip enough to pull himself free. He dashes over to his backpack and seizes a Pokéball, taking a stand beside Brewer and Duke.

Confident in my friend's ability to handle a few Aqua grunts, I duck into the Gym after Shelly.

The Aqua Admin steals a glance over her shoulder at me, her eyes narrowing. "Well, well, well," she slows to a stop, wheeling around to face me, hands on her hips. "Little Miss Harper is back for round two, hm?"

I glare at her. "I know why you're here, Shelly," I growl. "And I'm telling you now you're not getting out of here with that tablet."

She smirks, a fire sparking in her amber eyes. "Is that so? And I suppose a great big Trainer like yourself's going to stop me?"

I draw myself up to full height. "You better bet—"

"Crawdaunt! Knock off!" She shouts, snapping her fingers and vanishing up the staircase.

"What?" I blink, bewildered as her Crawdaunt springs into action fast than I would have thought possible to slap it's claw across Eevee's face like a club, eliciting a high-pitched yelp from my Pokémon.

"Hey!" I protest, scooping up Eve, "Neptune, mud slap!" I order, and the Mud Fish Pokémon leaps into action, spewing mud at the Crawdaunt while I take off up the stairs.

I burst into the upper floor of the Gym, seeing the Aqua Admin is bent over a desk, and there, in her hands, is an ancient tablet filled with braille. The second half of the Eon Tablet.

She glances up, and I plant myself in the doorway. "End of the line, Shelly," I say fiercely.

With a sneer, the Aqua Admin uses tablet like a brick, shattering the nearby window and showering the floor with glass. She tosses a grin over her shoulder. "Later, sweetie," she coos, blowing me a kiss and swinging one leg over the window frame.

"No! Sky!" I cry, and in a streak of blue and red, Skyler darts forward.

Time melts. Becomes elastic.

Skyler's close, so close. It's just a small matter of stretching out with her talons to grip the stone tablet. She doesn't even have to pick it up, she just has to knock it out of Shelly's hands. It'd be a small matter of having Eevee knock some sand in the Admin's face to blind her for a moment, I could run forward, grab the tablet...

A bolt of lightning comes out of nowhere, striking my Pokémon right in the chest and sending her crashing into the ground, where she lies there limp.

For a moment, no one makes a noise. Even Shelly turns to watch as Skyler gives a feeble cry.

Time rushes back, and I sprint forward. _"Skyler!"_ I scream, whirling to find the culprit.

A short man with a fleece pullover and crazy white hair steps forward, a Magnemite floating at his side.

"Leader Wattson..." I whisper, stunned.

* * *

**Wattson! What're you doing, man?**

**Don't fret, I'd never turn him into a bad guy. He knows what he's doing. **

**Also, I swear the gang will be out of Mauville by next chapter. They sort of dabbled here longer than I would have liked. sorry if you feel the same way!**

**I hope you all are enjoying it, please ****_please_**** tell me if you think I could change something.**

**Here's a quick chart I drew up, just so you can keep all the team members straight. Just a reminder, everyone but Allie & Co. and Aden and Britta are actual characters, not O.C.'s**

Team Magma

Leader: ?

Admins: Courtney, Mack and Aden (ex)

Grunts: Chris and Kelly

Team Aqua

Leader: Archie

Admins: Shelly and Matt

Grunts: Anthony

**That's all the villians that have been revealed, but there's more to each team. And my very favorite villian, the third Magma Admin, will hopefully be introduced soon.**

**Leave a review if that's your thing, or if you want me to get an email from someone other than a college because Holy Honchkrow if I get ****_one_**** more email from a college saying how amazed they are with me, I'm gonna hurl.**

**Many thanks,**

**-Duchess**


	14. Chapter 14

It's silent for a moment as we stare at each other.

"You work for them," I whisper, stunned.

Wattson holds up his hands. "Allie, stop. I can explain."

"I don't have time for this!" I round on Shelly, but to my horror, the Aqua Admin has already disappeared out the window. "Great," I mutter, glaring out the ragged hole in the window, "Just freaking peachy." I turn on Hoenn's third Gym Leader.

"Good job," I congratulate him, my temper rising. "No, really. Superb. I had everything under control! And why the hell would you attack _me?"_

Wattson opens his mouth to reply, when Brewer, Zac and Lucy barge into the tiny office.

"Al, where's Shelly?" Brewer asks tersely.

I fling my arm out at Wattson. "Ask genius man over here, he's got all the answers!" I snap, pointing.

Lucy winces, "That doesn't sound too promising," my best friend mutters, biting her lip anxiously.

"What happened to Skyler?" Zac asks, hurrying over to my fainted Pokémon.

"Yeah, Wattson. What happened?" I shoot back, advancing on the Electric-type Master.

Brewer catches my arm, hauling me away. "Bad move, Allie," he advises, holding me back.

"He attacked Skyler!" I protest, trying to twist away from him.

Lucy's eyes widen. "He didn't!" she gasps.

Zac stands, facing the Leader with a skeptical look. "Where's the Eon Tablet?" The researcher asks, reaching for a Pokéball at his belt.

Wattson holds up his hands. "I suggest we all just settle down. I will be more than happy to answer all of your questions, but I must get ahold of Leader Flannery first," and he disappears down the stairs.

Brewer drops my arm, and I face Skyler, calling her back to her Pokéball mutely.

"Did Wattson really attack her?" Lucy asks anxiously, stepping forward.

I nod, troubled as I pocket the 'ball. "Yeah. She was going after Shelly, for the tablet, you know? And then next thing I know a freaking bolt of _lightning_ comes out of nowhere and just hits her!"

"Maybe he like, missed," Lucy offers hopefully.

Zac shakes his head. "Wattson's signature move is Shock Wave, its accuracy is unparalleled. If he hit Skyler, it's because he was aiming for her."

"But why?" I ask, throwing up my hands. "Why would he attack _me?_ I was trying to get the stupid tablet! And now, thanks to him, Aqua has it."

"Good."

We all whirl around to see Steven Stone standing proudly in the doorway, flanked by a woman with soft blonde curls and a kind face, dressed in some sort of purple dress that looked like it had been stolen from a pioneer exhibit at a museum and a terrifying man with a long overcoat and no shirt.

"Oh, dear," Lucy mutters, stepping back as she's the closest to the doorway.

"Mr. Stone, Master Glacia, Master Drake," Zac says politely.

Not one for pleasantries, I decide to cut to the chase. "What do you mean _good?_" I demand. "You'd rather a _gang_ have the Eon Tablet than us?"

Steven's turquoise eyes are fierce, his face set. "Allison, I'd sooner wrap that tablet up in a bow and _give_ it to Archie than even allow you the slightest chance to get it," he says sharply.

I swallow, stepping back beside Lucy. That stung.

He turns to the woman. "Alert the Leaders," he orders. "Block off all roads to Lavaridge and Fallarbor. I want that tablet in Ever Grande by the time I get back, understood?"

The woman nods, turning sharply on her heel to sweep out of the room, leaving me, my friends, the shirtless, Long John Silver wannabe Master Drake guy at his side and a seriously pissed Steven Stone.

"Why is it so bad if we have the tablet?" I demand.

Steven doesn't seem to be down for a Q&A session though, he just sighs very hard, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looks exhausted.

"Allison," his tone is kinder, if only just. "Who in the world told you about the Eon Tablet?"

"I did," Zac says, stepping forward, daring anyone to question him.

"It's not like it was super-secret," I add, crossing my arms. "I mean, if you don't want us to know about something, don't put it on display in the middle of town in a giant glass case!"

Long John Silver frowns, stroking his white moustache. "That's only the first half of the Legend," he says carefully. "There's no record of a second half anywhere. Who told you?"

I bite my lip, shooting a glance at my friends, who are all exchanging uneasy looks. There's something distinctly uncomfortable about throwing Britta under the bus when she's not even here to defend herself.

"We overheard it," Brewer supplies smoothly, "At the carnival."

Steven just snorts, his lips twitching up in the ghost of a smile. "The resemblance you bear to your father is positively astounding, Ryan," he says, glancing up at my rival, who stiffens at the remark. The tension cranks up a notch, as Brewer glares balefully at Steven.

Comparing Brewer to his dad isn't a good idea at the best of times, but do it after he's just been caught in a lie and you aren't asking for trouble—you're practically on your knees begging for it. Sure, Norman and I aren't the best of chums all hours of the day, but we get along a hell of a lot better than Brewer and his own dad.

I lean over to my rival, "I think he called your bluff, bro," I whisper helpfully.

He rolls his eyes, "I got that, thanks."

"Why is it so bad if Allie reads the tablet?" Lucy asks, crossing her arms. "You said you'd rather give it to Aqua, and I think you better have a good reason for saying something like that!"

"Do you have any idea what that tablet contains?" Steven asks her, very seriously.

I throw my hands in the air. _"Of course not!"_ I shout, exasperated. "If we knew what the stupid thing said, why the _hell_ would we be up here trying to get it?"

"Then why do you care so much?" Long John Silver counters, raising a graying eyebrow. "You seem determined to get it, why?"

Again, I clamp my mouth shut before I say something I'll regret. Like, say, the truth.

_Well you see, Mr. Stone. Some crazy, gypsy lady showed up and told me my entire fate was tied to some zillion-year old tablet and if I found it, she'd tell me some way cool stuff about Latias and Latios and my brother and I. By the way, I haven't seen her since. Oh, and I totally believed her_.

Even in my head it sounded stupid.

"What does the tablet _say?"_ I ask sharply, glaring.

"Exactly what you said," pirate man says curtly, "The second half of the Eon Duo Legend."

"And that consists of...?" Lucy arches an eyebrow.

Long John Silver growls something under his breath that sounds remarkably like a curse. "Don't you get it?" he asks harshly, his eyes flaring as he rounds on me. "Did it ever cross your mind that _maybe_ the Leaders of Hoenn, eight of the strongest Trainers on this _continent_ actually know what they're talking about? Did you ever stop to think that maybe they had a good reason to keep you in the dark?"

"Omitting information is never justifiable," Zac snaps in my defense, claiming the man's attention and earning a vicious glare for it. "Lack of information leads to confusion, confusion leads to unpredictability."

The pirate guy looks furious at Zac's insolence, but Steven cracks a smile. "Valid point, Mr. Birch," he says politely. "But I don't think Allison Harper will ever fall in the category of _predictable."_

"So then tell me," I say, fully aware I should be offended by that last comment, but considering it was made by Steven Stone and not Ryan Brewer, no punches are going to be thrown. "What's on the second half of the Eon Tablet?"

Steven looks me over curiously. "The second half of the Legend foretells a time of chaos," he says slowly.

Long John Silver opens his mouth to protest, but Steven just raises a hand, and he falls silent, albeit sullenly.

"Okay," I say, trying to understand. "What kind of chaos are we talking here? Like, holy-crap-I-have-a-six-page-essay-due-tomorrow-and-I-haven't-even-started-it chaos or like fabric-of-space-and-time-is-unraveling kind of chaos?"

Steven smirks. "The latter, most likely," he says. "According to the myth, the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre and Groudon will stir once more, and when they do, only one person can calm them."

My eyes widen. "And...and you think it's _me?"_ I ask, not daring to believe it.

The pirate man sneers. "Please, a pathetic girl like you? Face off against the very creators of this land?"

My breath catches in my chest, and I bite my lip at his cruel words. The guy sure knew how to take out a girl's pride, that's for sure.

"Well I doubt the legend recommended you either!" Lucy returns fiercely, rising to my defense. "So I'd watch my mouth if I were you!"

Steven gives Long John Silver a reproachful look. "Drake," he says, arching an eyebrow. A silent reprimand. Drake the Pirate gives me one final dirty look before marching from the room.

"You have to forgive him," Steven apologizes. "The Elite are on edge."

My mouth pops open. "That guy's a member of the Elite Four?" I cry, outraged.

Steven nods. "Mm. Drake the Dragon Tamer."

Personally, I preferred Drake the Scary Pirate Wannabe with a Temper Worse than Mine but I decided not to voice these thoughts.

"He's Elite Four..." I say slowly. "And he takes orders from you. So that means..." I clap my hands to my face. "Jumping Jigglypuffs!" I choke out. "You...you're the _Champion?"_

Steven glances over at me mildly, unperturbed. "Of course," he says, frowning slightly. "I thought you knew that."

I turn on my friends. "I'm over here arguing with the _Champion of Hoenn_ and _none_ of you decided to inform me of that?" I demand.

Brewer snorts. "Would you have stopped arguing if we did?" he asks lazily.

And of course the answer is a resounding _no, _but I still glare. "It would have been nice to know," I hiss.

"So who did the legend say was going to be the one to calm Kyorge and Groudon?" Zac interrupts, frowning.

Steven crosses his arms. "That's confidential information, Mr. Birch," he says firmly, and I know that he's done passing out little tidbits of information.

"So..." Lucy rocks back on her heels, her crystalline blue eyes flickering from face to face. "What now?"

Steven shrugs. "That's up to you. I'm certainly not about to instruct you to do anything, but I _implore_ you," his turquoise eyes find me, "Put the Eon Duo legend and the Eon Tablet out of your mind. You're only a sixteen year-old girl, Allison. There's nothing you can do."

I can't help it. My eyes narrow. "If it's none of my business, why does Magma and Aqua keep following us, huh?"

An expression flashes across Steven's face. So fast I don't catch it. "Magma and Aqua want the tablet," Steven explains smoothly. "By getting to you, they know they'll have leverage over Norman, a Leader. That's not something to take lightly."

His explanation is logical enough, but there's something off about it. Something I can't quite place. The Champion gives me a hard look, as if he can sense my skepticism.

Wattson comes back up the stairs then. "Flanney's been informed," he tells Steven.

Steven nods, "Very well, then this is where I leave you. Be safe, please, and do try to stay out of trouble, hm?" He smiles kindly and turns, striding out of the room.

"We should get going too," Lucy says. "Al, you need to get Skyler to a Pokécenter."

I nod and go to follow my friend, but Wattson steps forward. "No hard feelings, right?" he asks, glancing at me.

I sigh, giving him a tired smile. "'Course not. You covered me when Norman was here, didn't you?"

Wattson pats my shoulder, "Just let me know what I can do to help."

I consider taking him up on his offer right there. Because you know what would help? Some _information_. Not that stuff Steven told us, but some raw, real info about this whole situation. It hadn't exactly escaped my notice that neither the Champion nor his scary Elite Dragon Tamer buddy had informed me of why _I_ couldn't read the tablet. And the excuse Steven gave for Magma and Aqua following us was about as transparent as a Light Screen. So what was the big idea? If I _wasn't_ involved, like they'd insisted I wasn't, why not just lay it all out? What did they have to hide from me?

"Yeah, sure Wattson," I reply, nodding, before following Lucy out the door.

-0-

"Brewer's challenging Wattson," Lucy informs me softly as we cross the street to the Pokécenter.

I roll my eyes, "Of course he is," I mutter.

The automatic doors to the Pokécenter hiss open, and I guess that means Wattson had managed to fix the power issue.

"You could too, you know," she goes on. "With Neptune, you'd have a fair shot."

I don't reply.

"Hello, welcome to the Pokécenter," the local Nurse Joy greets us cheerfully. Upon seeing my somber expression, she frowns slightly. "What's the problem?" she asks.

"My Taillow," I say softly, placing Skyler's Pokéball on the counter. "I, uh, I think she fainted."

It killed me, it really did. I hadn't even officially _caught_ the poor thing. She was following me purely on trust. And then I let her go and get _struck out of the sky_ by a freaking _thunderbolt._

Nurse Joy just takes the Pokéball in her hands, smiling kindly. "Well, that's nothing we can't fix, now is it?" She places Sky's Pokéball on a tray held by a nurse costume-clad Chansey before turning to type some commands into her computer. When she sees I'm still standing there, she gives me another smile. "It's going to take us a little bit, Miss Harper," she tells me. "We have to assess her injuries first. Why not take a walk? You could go challenge Wattson, or maybe have a chat with the Day-Care folks? Trust your Taillow to us."

With a sigh, I allow Lucy to pull me out of the Pokécenter, and we walk back onto the streets of Mauville.

"Well, what now?" I ask, crossing my arms.

Lucy looks thoughtful, "We could always go watch Brewer's Gym Match," she offers.

I snort, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."

She gives me a hard look. "He's your friend," she says sternly.

"He's an ego-centric womanizer," I correct, looking around, "And the Day-Care's got my vote."

We begin our walk down to the large cottage that sits just outside Mauville.

"So," I say as casually as I can, which is to say with the bluntness of a _club_. "Are you planning on entering a Contest or what?"

She bites her lip, looking away. "I mean, I don't know. You and Brewer hate contests, and Zac says they're degrading to Pokémon, so..." She trails off at the look on my face.

"Luce," I say, leveling a look at her. "You're a Coordinator, okay? It's in your blood, and it's what you're good at."

I had never actually been to one of Lucy's Contests before, what with them all being held in faraway places and myself being confined to the tri-city area of Littleroot, Petalburg and Rustboro. However, I had seen a few of her Ribbons, the majority of which were first place.

She shrugs as nonchalantly as she can, which is to say she was practically sweating bullets. "I've already won Ribbons in Verdanturf, Slateport and Fallarbor," she tells me. "Why would I want to compete again?"

I frown. "Um, because it's _fun," _I say. "I mean, at least for you it is. Come on, Luce. You've got a heart of gold and you're as humble as they come, but even you can say that winning is fun."

"Is winning a Contest really winning?" my best friend mutters.

Oh, sweet merciful crap. This is not where I wanted this conversation to go. No, no, no, Lucy Reed if you start crying I swear I am going to push you into the bushes—

"I mean...I guess it is," I say awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head. "In Gym Matches, if you get the badge, that means you won. In Contests, you get a Ribbon, and so you know you won." I shoot her a quick glance. "Right?"

She doesn't reply.

"You don't like Contests," I say slowly, seeing the expression on her face.

"Of course I do!" she replies, a little too shrilly.

"Lucy you've been avoiding every Contest Hall we've passed like the plague," I say, understanding dawning on me. How could I have missed this?

My best friend scrambles to defend herself. "Yeah, well, I don't like the attention I get."

I roll my eyes. "Oh, God. Don't _even_ with that crap." I face her, crossing my arms. "Lucy, I'm the daughter of a Gym Leader. Everywhere I go, people know who I am. Granted, they aren't quite as creepy as those people in Verdanturf are, but don't doubt for a second that they don't judge me just because of my last name. But you don't see me avoiding Gyms, do you?"

She arches an eyebrow and I hastily backtrack. "Okay, you don't see me avoiding Gyms for _that_ reason."

I study my best friend. "Lucy, why do you have Daisy wear an Everstone?" I ask, watching as her hand reflexively clutches at the Glameow's Pokéball at her belt.

"So she doesn't evolve," she replies promptly. I internally roll my eyes. We're really just a group of geniuses, aren't we?

"Yes, I know what an Everstone _is,"_ I tell her. "What I'm asking is why you don't want Daisy to evolve."

"Everstones are useful items, when used for the right reasons," an unfamiliar voice supplies. We turn to see a kindly old man leaning his arms on the fence outside the Day-Care. A Pidgeot sat on his shoulder, watching us closely. "Pardon my rudeness," he apologizes. "I'm Mr. Warner, the Day-Care man."

I stare past him, looking into the fields around the building. Tons of Pokémon were hanging around. I spotted a group of Zigzagoons playing with each other, and a variety of different Flying-types roosting in a large tree. A Marill and a Corphish faced off near a small pond while a pair of Ponytas chased one another around a paddock.

"Wow," I mutter, taking it all in. "This is a Day-Care?"

Mr. Warner smiles, nodding, "It sure is. You must be Allison Harper; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Lucy seems a touch more observant. "They're all wearing Everstones..." she says slowly, her crystalline blue eyes traveling over all the Pokémon. I do a double-take and realize she's right.

"Bouncing Buizels," I mutter, scanning the fields of Pokémon. "They are!"

Mr. Warner gives us a look, swinging open the gate. "How about you two come on in? I'll give you the grand tour."

-0-

"And you never evolve them?" I ask, peering hard at the Day-Care man.

He shakes his head, stroking his Pidgeot. "Never," he answers. We're seated beneath a large tree in the yard, chatting.

"I guess I can see that," Lucy says. "Evolution is a big deal for Trainers, that's something they'd want to do themselves."

"And this is like...your job?" I ask. "You get paid to hang out with Pokémon all day?"

Mr. Warner chuckles, "In its simplest form, I suppose, yes."

"Lucky Psyduck," Lucy mutters.

I'm a bit peeved, though. "So people just dump their Pokémon off here because, what? They're too lazy to train them?"

Lucy elbows me. Okay, so eloquent speech isn't my thing. Sue me.

Mr. Warner shrugs, "There are plenty of reasons. Sometimes Trainers just don't have time, or are working on training other Pokémon."

I glare, "But they're cool with a total stranger training their Pokémon?" I demand.

"Allie," Lucy hisses, shooting me a warning look.

Mr. Warner looks thoughtful. "I suppose training isn't the only reason we're sought out. Breeding is another main reason."

I tilt my head in confusion. "Breeding?" I ask, puzzled, "Like, Pokémon breeding?"

With a wink, he gives his Pidgeot a look, and the great Bird Pokémon takes to the air, flying off. In a moment, he's back, an egg clutched in his talons.

"A Pokémon egg!" I exclaim, stunned. I'd only read about the things. It was pure green, encircled by a ring of darker green dots.

"Indeed," Mr. Warner says, accepting the egg from his Pidgeot, who quickly took off again to stop a tiny Spheal who was wandering towards the large pond.

"What does it do?" I ask uneasily, examining the thing.

He chuckles, "Why, it hatches of course!"

I swallow, feeling like an idiot. What did you think they were going to do with it, Allie? Serve it sunny-side up for breakfast?

"How?" Lucy asks, looking intrigued.

Mr. Warner smiles, offering her the egg, which she holds carefully, "Well," he says. "In the wild, Pokémon nurture their own eggs. However, when born in an environment like this, it's up to Trainers to take care of them." He smiles at the look of wonder on my best friend's face. "If developed properly, the egg will hatch."

"Into what?" Lucy asks, peering at the egg.

There's a gleam in the man's eye. "Why don't you find out?" he asks.

"What?" Lucy yelps, shocked. "Me?"

He smiles kindly. "You sounded a little unsure about what you wanted to dedicate your time to," he says, which I guess is a nice way of phrasing my previous blunt calling-out of her lack of Contesting.

"You're...you're _giving_ it to me?" she repeats.

Mr. Warner just grins. "Sure, that egg was special delivered here from Johto. We actually needed a Trainer to take it off our hands."

Before Lucy can reply, there's a shrill cry from the yard of Pokémon.

"Oh, no," Mr. Warner mutters, climbing to his feet.

"What's wrong?" I ask, standing.

"Our resident trouble makers, it seems," he grumbles, striding off. Lucy clambers to her feet, clutching the egg to her chest, and we follow him.

The resident trouble makers, as it turns out, are really, really tiny.

"A Plusle and Minun," I say, frowning as we walk over to where Mr. Warner is standing, his Pidgeot holding the two struggling Pokémon beneath his talons.

"Paris and Prince," Mr. Warner grumbles.

"Well, whose Pokémon are they?" I ask, watching as the Minun, Paris, lets loose a spark of electricity, electing a sharp cry from the Pidgeot, who tightens his hold on them.

Mr. Warner sighs, "Nobody's, that's the problem. They were found together in Route 110, harassing travelers. Something needed to be done, so Wattson gave them to us. All they do here is stir up trouble."

I frown, "Nobody will take them?"

He shrugs, "They're a package deal, most Trainers don't have the patience, or the room for them."

I kneel down beside the two, waving the Pidgeot away. He gives me a _good luck_ glance and flies off. Now free, the two Cheering Pokémon hop to their feet. "My Mudkip's sort of like that," I say, reaching out my hand to the Plusle, Paris, who sniffs it tentatively. "Goofy, you know?"

Mr. Warner shrugs, "To each their own, then. But the real problem is Prince. He's far too protective of Paris, if anyone so much as touches her..." He trails off, watching as Pairs crawls into my palm, and Prince hastily shoots a small bolt of electricity at my hand. With a yelp, I retract my hand, dropping Paris.

"You don't say," I mutter, massaging my hand.

"That's why they have to go together," Lucy mutters.

Mr. Warner nods tiredly. "You don't happen to know someone who could take them, do you?"

I grin, reaching for a Pokéball. "You know, I think I do."

-0-

"Happy Birthday," I say bluntly, plopping the Pokéball into Brewer's surprised hands.

He gives me a look, "Excuse me?"

"It's a Plusle. Long story. Her name's Paris." I say, crossing my arms.

We're outside Wattson's Gym, Brewer and Zac having just exited; the former no doubt victorious. He wisely chose to not show me his new Badge, likely because he didn't want said Badge shoved up his nose by yours truly. I'd finally gotten Skyler back, and my Tiny Swellow Pokémon seemed good as new, though I still felt guilty about what had happened.

"And why do I need a Plusle?" he asks, confused.

"Because you don't have an Electric-type in your party and I'm a nice person," I say fiercely, "Any other complaints?"

He exchanges looks with Lucy, and she must have been mouthing something like _just play along with the crazy girl_ because he slowly clips the Pokéball to his belt, which I notice is now full. Six Pokémon. Six really _strong _Pokémon.

I attach Prince's 'ball to my own belt, trying to act unfazed by the contrasting numbers.

"What is that?" Zac asks, stepping forward and looking at the egg in Lucy's arms.

"An egg," she returns, hugging it closer. "The Day-Care man gave it to me."

Zac's brow furrows. "He didn't give _me_ one," he mutters, dejected.

I roll my eyes, "Focus, Zachary." I tell him.

The researcher nods, leaning back. "Right. We need to go to Lavaridge."

Lucy frowns, "Lavridge? Why?"

"Wattson got a call in the middle of our battle," Brewer explains. "There's trouble down there."

Lucy sighs, glaring at us. "Someday," she declares, "Someone other than myself will come to the realization that _trouble_ is not synonymous with _ideal destination_."

"But what about me?" I ask, frowning. "I was going to challenge Wattson!"

Zac hesitates, "I mean, you can..." he says, trailing off, shooting a look at Brewer.

"Leaders have to wait four hours after a defeat," I say curtly, crossing my arms, the League rule coming back to me now.

Brewer shrugs, "If we want to know what's going on, we have to get to Lavaridge, Al. We just don't have that kind of time."

"You've had all the time in the world," Lucy argues. "If Allie wants to challenge Wattson, let her!"

Brewer glares back, "I'm not saying she _can't,_ I'm saying we just don't have the _time_."

"But yet it wasn't a problem when _you_ were battling him," I snap.

My rival rounds on me. "Allie, there are things more important that Badges!" he cries.

Lucy laughs humorlessly, "Says the boy with more Badges than any of us?"

I sigh, trying to let go of my anger. I wanted a Badge. But I _had_ to know what was going on.

"All right," I sigh heavily. "We're going to Lavaridge."

Lucy shakes her head. "No way, Al. Don't let them bully you into anything."

"No one's getting bullied," I say. "He's stupid and I hate him, but Brewer's right. Badges aren't the priority here."

My rival rolls his eyes, "Gee, thanks," he mutters.

"Be happy she called you dumb and didn't hit you with her cast," Zac mutters as the four of us head towards the Route 111.

"Haven't ruled that out yet, Zac Attack," I say loudly, leading the way out of Mauville.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, everyone.**

**Sorry it's up so late tonight, I was pressed for time this weekend.**

**Hope everything's starting to make sense. I know it's annoying to not know what's going on all the time, but I'm worried if I reveal too much it'll lose it's excitement.**

**The gang got some new Pokémon, so here you go:**

_Allie_

-Prince: A Minun who is close friends with Paris. He's stronger than her, but slower. He is fiercely protective of her.

_Brewer_

-Duke: A tough Nidorino. He brings brute force to the team.

-Pairs: A Plusle who is close friends with Prince. She's weaker than him, but much faster. She has a habit of getting into trouble.

_Lucy_

-Egg: A green egg from the Johto region.

**I hope my character development didn't feel too forced. My pacing is sometimes off. **

**Leave a review if that's your thing, or you fancy giving me motivation.**

**Thanks always for reading, dear readers!**

**See you Wednesday!**

**-Duchess**


	15. Chapter 15

We've literally taken like, twelve steps out of Mauville when it happens.

Brewer takes me down with a tackle that wouldn't have won any prizes but successfully gets me from Point A to Point B.

Point A being the dirt road we'd been walking on and Point B being a small bundle of bushes.

"Do you _mind?"_ I hiss, squirming to get out from under him.

"Shhh," he shushes me, covering my mouth with his hand.

Peering through the branches, I see two figures approaching us, one armed with a microphone, the other toting a large video camera. Lucy and Zac hastily step closer together, blocking me and Brewer from view. I crane my neck, catching a glimpse of a woman with cropped brown hair and a tall man sporting a backwards ball cap.

"Can we help you?" Zac asks, none too politely.

"Hi!" the woman says cheerfully. "I'm Gabby, and this is Ty," she gestures to the man beside her, who waves with his free hand, the other holding a large camera to his shoulder. "Can you spare a few minutes?"

"Um, actually—" Lucy begins.

"Great!" Gabby interrupts, beaming. "We're a traveling news crew. We scour the globe looking for the toughest Trainers, then we film the battles and broadcast them!"

"Yeah, awesome," Zac replies coolly, crossing his arms, "Have you checked out Ever Grande City? I hear there are some pretty tough Trainers out there. Why not give them a whirl?"

Brewer snorts at the joke. I elbow him in the ribs.

"Come on, Zac," Lucy says, deftly unclipping a Pokéball from her tote bag strap. "We'll make quick work of them."

Ty the Cameraman nods appreciatively, "Nice! Battling couples are hard to find."

Zac and Lucy leap like, six feet apart. An impressive feat, if you ask me.

"No, no we are _so_ not together," Lucy nearly chokes, shaking her head rapidly.

"Never," Zac agrees, his face taking on the hue of the Pokéballs adorning his belt, "Never ever."

Gabby tilts her head, tapping a finger to her chin. "Aren't you Professor Birch's son?" Zac nods curtly, folding his arms.

"And that there's Paula Reed's kid," Ty says, nodding to Lucy as he adjusted his camera lens. "I was on the camera crew at her Contest in Slateport one year."

The news anchor claps her hands together excitedly, "Oh, _perfect!_ Can you believe it, Ty? Star-crossed lovers! Oh, the station is going to _love_ this!"

Zac rubs his temples, swearing, while Lucy stands stiffly, petrified.

Meanwhile, Brewer and I are practically choking on our laughter.

"You know what? Fine," Zac pulls out a Pokéball. "You want a fight? We'll give you a fight. Go, Sheldon!" The Shieldon appears in a flash of white light, growling lowly in his native tongue.

"You heard him, Hera, let's go!" Lucy calls, hurling her Pokéball to the ground and watching as her Swablu flies from the flash, fluffy white wings spread wide.

With a grin, Gabby reaches for her own Pokéball, while the cameraman does the same. "Go, Whismur!" Gabby calls.

"Come on out, Magnemite!" Ty shouts.

"Sheldon, Take Down!" Zac calls, pointing at the Magnemite.

"Not a chance," Gabby shouts. "Whismur, Uproar!"

The Whismur leaps in front of the Shield Pokémon, opening its mouth wide and letting loose a terrible, ear-splitting shriek. The noise causes every human to clap their hands to their ears, and is violent enough to throw Sheldon off course, sending him charging into the dirt.

"The Whsimur's started an Uproar," Zac snaps, his hazel eyes flaring.

"Show that thing what _real_ music sounds like, Hera!" Lucy orders, hands on her hips. The Swablu takes to the air, soaring above the two combatants.

"Good try, but no dice," Gabby snorts, crossing her arms. "Whismur's are too fast to get hit by a spotty move like Sing."

"Sheldon, Taunt!" Zac shouts, and the Shield Pokémon charges forward, lowering his head and emitting a low, guttural noise. I guess whatever he said in Shieldon language was rather offensive, because the Whsimur's eyes fill up with rage and she charges Sheldon.

"Whismur, no!" Gabby wails. "Dodge, not attack!" No longer aiming at a moving target, Hera swoops in deftly, opening her beak and letting a sweet melody slide out, encompassing the Whismur. The Whisper Pokémon sways precariously on her feet, blinking a few times before keeling over, snoring loudly.

"Not bad," Ty says. "But how well does your birdie play with lightning?" He points at the Swablu, "Magnemite, Spark!"

"No, Hera!" Lucy cries, but it's too late, and the Magenmite fires off a ball of electricity that hits the Swablu directly, sending her spiraling to the ground. I bite my lip. A one-hit knockout.

Lucy pulls a vicious look as she swaps Pokéballs. "All right then, tough guy," she growls. "Go, Arion!"

With a fierce whinny, Lucy's Ponyta bursts from the light, throwing himself up on his back legs and pummeling the air with his fiery hooves.

"Arion, Ember!" the Coordinator calls, pointing. Arion slams his hooves into the ground, spewing a column of flames at the Magnemite, who in turn goes tumbling through the air.

"Nice one," Zac compliments. "Now to take out that Whismur..."

But before he can call an attack, a violent tremor shakes the earth, nearly dislodging me from my hiding place before Brewer wraps a secure arm around my waist, pulling me closer to my rival than I ever had any desire to be. "What was that?" I hiss.

"No idea," he replies, his voice low in my ear.

"This area's not known for 'quakes," Ty mutters, scratching his chin.

"That wasn't an earthquake," Zac mutters, shielding his eyes and peering up at the rocky exterior of Mt. Chimney, just visible over the horizon.

"Something's going on at that mountain," Gabby agrees, calling back her Whsimur. "Come on Ty, this could be big news. Let's hoof it!"

"So much for star-crossed lovers," Lucy mutters, recalling Arion as the news crew scurries off.

"Don't sound so disappointed," Brewer teases her, climbing out of the bushes.

My best friend spins on him, scowling. "Oh _please_, just what were you doing with Allie in those bushes?"

"Okay, folks," I intervene, stepping between them, my face thoroughly flushing at that last comment. "Are we gonna see what that tremor was about or are we gonna stand around here all day making each other uncomfortable?"

"You can't go like that," Zac protests, "You think they were interested in me and Lucy, imagine how they'd react if Norman's own _daughter_ came on by."

Brewer nods in agreement, frowning. "Zac's right. You're ugly mug would be on every TV from here to Mossdeep before you could say _Farfetch'd."_

"Charming as always, dear Ryan," I growl at him.

In a flash, Brewer's taken off his ball cap with a sweep of his hand and jammed it over my head. "Excuse you!" I protest, glaring at him from under the bill of his cap.

Lucy shakes her head, frowning at me critically. "It's no good...here," she reaches around and pulls out the hair tie holding in my ponytail. Unbound, my long, wavy, dirty blonde hair falls well past my shoulders.

"Hey! Watch it!" I snap, trying to grab the hair tie back.

Zac bites his lip, "I don't know, she's still pretty noticeable," he mutters.

"On it," Brewer says, shrugging out of his jacket.

I take a step back, raising a warning finger. "Ryan Brewer..."

Before long, he's somehow shimmed me into his jacket. The overlapping clothing masks my athletic frame, but also feels like an _oven_ in the noon sun.

"Awesome, can we go now?" I demand sourly, feeling ridiculous as I stand before them in a hat, long hair, and a bulky physique. None of which you will usually catch me dead in.

"I guess," Lucy says, unconvinced.

"Just keep your head down and your mouth shut," Brewer advises, running a hand through his raven hair. "If anything's going to give you away, it'll be that mouth of yours."

"You people are terrible at friendship!" I call loudly, storming past them.

We make our way farther down the dirt path, passing some Picnickers who seem just as puzzled as us by the tremors. "I've been camping here for years," one of the Picnickers informs us, falling into step beside us as we troop by. "I've never heard of an earthquake in this part of Hoenn."

"It wasn't a 'quake," Zac insists, grimacing as the path turned unnaturally rocky. "Something's up at Mt. Chimney."

"Ever been up there?" Brewer asks, tossing the researcher a sideways look.

Zac nods curtly, his hand shooting out to grab Lucy's wrist, steadying the Coordinator as she regains her footing. "Once," he answers, his hazel eyes not leaving my best friend until she steadied herself. "Dad took me up here when I was twelve. He told me to never come up by myself, it was too dangerous."

"No kidding," I mutter, as we climb to the top of the hill, "Look."

At the top of the hill, the Route forked. On the left lay a very unappealing entrance to what the locals called the Fiery Path. How it got that name, I'm not sure. And I wasn't really too eager to find out. Bear right, and you come upon the Cable Car. A snazzy little contraption that takes you up to Mt. Chimney. Personally, you couldn't _pay_ me to set foot in the thing. Crawling through caves I can handle, but send me three hundred feet in the air dangling in a tiny cart on a painfully thin wire?

Pass.

In any case, we couldn't even see the entrance to the Cable Car, thanks to the mob of people swarming in front of it. I tap the shoulder of a man in front of me. "What's going on?" I ask loudly, trying to be heard above the noise of the crowd.

"Some bloke in a red hood," the man calls back. "He's blockin' the way to the Cable Car!"

"Magma," Brewer mutters, his expression turning sour.

I shoot him a sarcastic look, "Oh really? I thought it was Little Red Riding Hood."

He glares, "Well all right then, Einstein. What do you propose we do about it?"

I roll my eyes, "Gee, I don't know. Maybe the same thing we've done to _every_ Magma moron we've come across: kick their ass to Kingdom Come."

"No chance, Al," Zac mutters. "Take a look."

Frowning, I peer between the bulky shoulders of two Hikers, catching a glimpse of the hooded figure.

It was a young man, from what I could see. He was tall and muscular. Not body-builder type, but you could tell he'd have no problem putting up dukes as opposed to calling out Pokémon. Speaking of the latter, it was hard to miss the enormous, dog-like Pokémon at his side.

"What _is_ that thing?" Lucy mutters, biting her lip.

"A Houndoom," Brewer replies in undertone, folding his arms, "Nasty piece of work."

Frowning, I pull out my Pokédex, aiming it at the beast. _"Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon,"_ the electronic voice drones, _"The evolved form of Houndour. Houndoom's eerie howl is said to cause those who hear it to shudder in fear."_

_"Shudder in fear,"_ I quote in a mellow voice, pocketing the 'dex, "Sounds peachy."

Brewer throws me a loaded look, "What'd you expect from a thing with horns longer than your arm?" he demands caustically. _"Houndooms enjoy chasing butterflies and long walks on the beach?"_

"Oh, shut up," I snap, crossing my arms.

"So what are we going to do?" Lucy asks.

"I still say we take him on," I argue. "Between Blobby, Gale and Neptune, we'd have a shot."

"No way," Brewer shakes his head. "I've seen what those things can do firsthand, Allie, and I'm telling you it can't be done. This guy is a lot higher on the food chain if he's walking around with Pokémon like that. We'd be setting ourselves up for failure, not to mention putting our Pokémon through a whole lot of unnecessary pain."

I blink twice, stunned. I don't think I've ever heard Ryan Brewer turn down a fight before, no matter how slanted the odds.

"So what do we do then?" I ask. "There's no other way to Lavaridge."

"We should go to Fallarbor," Lucy suggests, adjusting her tote strap. "The Ruin Maniac lives there, and he's the one who found the Eon Tablet in the first place. We could ask him and avoid any run-ins with Aqua or Magma."

I sigh, shooting one last dark look at the Magma guy. "I don't get it," I mutter as we begin to walk toward the Fiery Path. "All these people are just standing around, more than half of whom are Trainers. Why doesn't anyone stand up to him?"

"Bravery's a rare trait, Allie," Zac says, placing a guiding hand on my back to hurry me along as a few curious people glance our way. "You'd be hard pressed to find someone with the guts to start something like that. I know that the parts of Magma we've seen haven't been too impressive, but don't mistake them for a joke. They have considerable power, as does Aqua. How else do you think they've managed to hang around this long?"

_Why else do you think Aden joined them?_ a voice in my head tacks on smugly.

-0-

_"Christ_ it is hot in here," Brewer complains.

I turn to shoot him a snarky response, but he raises a hand to stop me. "I know, I know," he mutters. "They don't call it the _Icy_ Path."

"This cavern passes directly through Mt. Chimney," Zac informs us as we hike through it. He gestures to the rocky wall of the cave. "Had the excavators dug any further, they would have hit the heart of the volcano."

"What I want to know," Lucy gripes, wiping sweat off her forehead, "Is who in the world looked at an _active volcano_ and thought, 'hm, you know what this needs? A _shortcut."_

"At least they had enough sense to make it short," Brewer says, pointing. "There's the exit."

"Hold up, what's this?" I ask, frowning and walking over to a section of the wall that appeared to be crumbling.

"Hm, that's interesting," he mutters, pushing on the cracked wall lightly. "I guess there's more to the path. You'd need a Pokémon to shift this boulder though."

"I wonder what's on the other side?" I muse, tracing the cracks.

Lucy shrugs, slogging past us. "Unless it's a five-star resort," she says. "I'm not interested."

I frown, turning to Zac. "Didn't you say this leads to the heart of the volcano?"

The researcher studies the rock, and I can practically _see_ the gears in his head spinning. "I did," he agrees slowly, "This is just bizarre."

"What's _bizarre_ is why we're all still baking in this God-forsaken tunnel when there is fresh, cool air right over here," Lucy grabs my arm, pulling me to the exit. "There's a time and a place to become a geologist, Al. And the Fiery Path isn't it, unless you fancy a dose of heat stroke."

We walk out into Route 112, blinking in the sunlight. "God, I hate caves," Lucy mutters, hugging her shoulders. "Not to mention ones that can burn your buns off."

"Oh, relax," I say, rolling my eyes. "That wasn't a cave, that was a path. And I had two jackets on so you can hush up about being hot, sister. That reminds me." I shrug out of Brewer's jacket, handing it back to him. "No more incognito Allie, the news crews are gone."

"But what if we run into them again?" Brewer asks, frowning as I remove his ball cap.

I snort, smoothing my hair and tying it back up in a ponytail. "If you think I'm going to walk around my own freaking country in disguise, you've got another think coming. Besides, no one's going to notice me. We're so far from Petalburg, I doubt anyone even knows—"

"Look, it's Allie Harper!" a voice shouts.

"Sweet merciful crap," I mutter, turning to face the speaker.

Two tall figures saunter towards us, a girl and a boy.

"What do we have here, Wilton?" the girl asks coyly, sizing me up with sharp green eyes.

"I don't know Brooke, looks like a Leader's kid to me," the boy replies, smirking.

"Why are they acting so creepy?" I mutter to Zac.

The researcher's eyes are cold. "Aces," he replies in a low voice.

Oh, wonderful.

Ace Trainers, in case you're unaware, suck. Really they do. Essentially, the only difference between an Ace Trainer and say, me, is that I have morals and am normally a nice person. Aces are jerks. They're cocky, they're arrogant, and all they really want to do is ruin your day. Like, if Roxanne of Rustboro wasn't a Leader, she'd most definitely be an Ace. The worst part is, they have the skill to back up their loud mouths. Most Trainers talk trash, then have to swallow it after getting beat. Aces don't generally have this problem, because people don't generally beat Aces. I'd never approach one without reason, but it seemed like these two weren't really giving us too much of a choice.

"Get lost," I snap, trying to sound like I wasn't on the verge of running hell-for-leather back into the Fiery Path. "Whatever you're selling, we ain't buying."

"Word of mouth has it you're getting involved with Team Aqua and Team Magma," the girl, Brooke, says, arching an eyebrow.

"Butt out," Lucy says hotly, taking a step up beside me.

"We've heard some interesting rumors, Miss Harper," Wilton, the boy, says smugly. "They say you're working for Champion Stone."

I snort, "And you bought that piece of crap?" I demand, hands on my hips. "You _are_ dumb."

"Regardless," Wilton continues smoothly, like I didn't just call him stupid or anything, which I totally did. "Brooke and I here would like a battle."

"Yeah? And I'd like for you two to go away. How does that sound?" I retort.

"We hardly get any decent challengers out this way," Brooke snarls back.

"Oh really? I can't imagine why that would be," I reply with mock surprise. "It's almost like you set up camp on the other side of a freaking _volcano_."

"Enough!" Wilton snaps, jabbing a finger at me. "A duel, Allison. Send out your toughest Pokémon!"

I grit my teeth. To duck out now would make me seem like a coward, but accepting the challenge might spell defeat. "You're all talk," I growl, unclipping a Pokéball and throwing it to the ground. "Prince, let's go!"

My Minun appears in a flash of white light, tugging on his long blue ears.

Adorable, yes. Intimidating, absolutely not.

Resigning myself to the fact that you couldn't really make the three pound Pokémon scary if you tried, I just sit and watch as Wilton summons his own Pokémon: a Wailmer.

"Oh, come on!" I complain. "What is this, a weight contest?"

"You've got a type advantage," Lucy offers.

I roll my eyes, "Great, tell that to the _thousand pound_ weight difference I'm dealing with." I take a deep breath, steadying myself and praying to whatever deity oversees Pokémon battles to please let me not humiliate myself.

"Prince, Thunder Wave!" I call, just to get the ball rolling. Wailmers are already slow; slow them down even more and basically you're just facing a two-ton ball of lard.

A jolt runs through the Ball Whale Pokémon as the paralyzing shock hits him.

"Wailmer, Rollout!" Wilton orders, frowning as he surveys the battle.

The Pokémon rolls backwards, before gaining enough momentum to shoot himself at Prince, who leaps to the side, dodging the attack. But before I can call my next move, I hear Brewer shout with alarm: "Allie, look out!"

I turn around in time to see a Numel charging Prince. Too stunned—and too late—to help, I can only watch hopelessly as the Numb Pokémon lays my Minun out flat.

"That's _so_ cheating!" I shout, as Brooke walks up behind her Pokémon.

"You never specified who you were battling," Brooke replies with a smirk.

Lucy throws her hands in the air, exasperated, "Um, hello! Her Minun zapped his Wailmer. _Obviously_ she wasn't battling you!"

"Rule Twenty-Two of the Trainer's Handbook states that all Trainers must clearly communicate whom they intend to battle, otherwise they are still considered approachable."

I'm seething. "Yeah? Well rule number Fifty-Seven of the Allison Harper Handbook states that that's a jerk move and I'm going to kick your ass for it!" And so help me, I walk right up to the Ace and punch him right in his stupid, smug face.

It's silent for a moment as Wilton tugs lightly on his nose before assessing me casually and pulling back his hand so quickly, I barely register the movement before he's slapped me clean across the face.

I swear, stumbling to the side and clutching my face, while Brewer leaps in front of me. "You don't hit a girl!" My rival shouts.

"Especially not this girl," Lucy agrees fiercely.

Wilton takes a swing at Brewer, who ducks and follows up with a nasty uppercut that sends the Ace sprawling.

Did I mention Brewer's the son of a famous boxer? Maybe now would be a good time to do that.

But before anyone can do anything more, an old lady comes running over. "You damn kids!" she shouts at Brooke and Wilton, waving her walking stick wildly. "I told you to get off my property!"

Clearly, the idea of facing this old lady was scarier than us, because the Aces split.

"Jerks!" I shout after them, rubbing my sore face.

Brewer spits on the ground after them, before facing me, breathing heavily. "You all right?" he asks.

I nod, "What was their problem?"

The old woman sighs, "They've been like that since they came here. Trying to two-time Trainers like that. I stop it when I can, but..." she trails off, rounding on Brewer.

"And _you,_ young man," she scolds. "What do you think you're doing? Throwing punches, stooping to their level like that?"

I try to intervene, "No ma'am, you don't get it, they hit me and he was just—"

She totally ignores me. "Did your father teach you that? To just spring boxing moves on unsuspecting bullies?"

I blink. Wait a second...

"Oh, lay off, Grandma," Brewer says dismissively.

Zac offers a brief wave. "Hello, Mrs. Brewer," he says politely.

The old woman's smile turns warm. "Ah, Zachary. Glad to see my grandson still has you to keep him on the straight and narrow. Would you all like a rest?" She turns, leading us back to a small house.

"That's your Grandma?" I hiss at Brewer as we fall into step behind her.

"Yeah," he replies, rubbing his jaw where I guess Wilton got in a lucky shot. "What gave it away? The wild stick-waving or the swearing?"

* * *

**Hello, dear readers!**

**A thousand apologies for my tardiness. I've been super busy with things, and by things I most definitely do not mean playing Assassin's Creed 3. Okay so maybe I do. But I've regrouped and refocused and I'll hopefully be back on my regular updating time.**

**This chapter was kinda boring in my opinion, but I really need to practice writing my battle scenes better. In case you didn't make the connection, Brewer's grandma is the old lady from the rest stop in Route 112. She'll be really important in the next chapter.**

**I just really, really hate Ace Trainers, and I can't help but notice they always travel in like, packs. It's unnerving.**

**Leave a review, if that's your thing or you want to give me justification for staying up till midnight finishing this chapter.**

**Heart,**

**Duchess**


	16. Chapter 16

"So you just like, live out here?" I ask as we enter the small cabin, "Seems kind of lonely."

"I don't remember asking your opinion on my lifestyle choices," Brewer's Grandma replies shortly, her eyes narrowed as she eases herself into a large chintz chair. I bite my lip, any doubt that this was my rival's relative erased at her cutting reply.

"Ease up, Granny," Brewer insists, frowning as he takes the seat across from me at the kitchen table.

She points her walking stick threateningly at her grandson. "Don't get me started on _you_, Ryan Joseph. Picking fights like that."

"I don't pick fights," Brewer defends himself, "I just finish 'em."

Lucy and I exchange eye rolls and his cockiness, but his Grandma scowls. "You sound like your father, Ryan," she scolds, and Brewer's eyes flare with anger.

As the silence grows uncomfortable, I take a moment to glance around her house. It's small, but clean. There aren't too many family portraits hanging about the wall, instead I see many medals and trophies from various competitions. I snort inwardly, no wonder Brewer's so big on winning everything.

"So what brings you four out here?" Grandma asks, lacing her fingers together over her stomach. "Lord only knows what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into."

"We're not in trouble, Grandma Bea," Zac says, claiming the seat beside Lucy, "Just traveling."

"Traveling, hm?" she repeats, clearly unconvinced. She reclines in her chair, "Tell me, Allison, what does your father have to say about that?"

I jump, having never signed up for a verbal sparring with this particular old lady. "Oh, um, he's cool with it," I lie uneasily, my fingers unconsciously creeping up to twirl the end of my ponytail—my telltale nervous habit.

"Truly?" Grandma Bea asks, lifting a graying eyebrow. "So if I called him up right now...?"

"He'd fly up here in two seconds flat and ground me until I'm thirty-five!" I confess in a rush, leaping out of my chair. Good _God_ what is it with me and spilling my guts around old people? I just can't keep a straight face around them! "Please don't tell, Mrs. Brewer," I beg.

"Your father is probably out of his mind with worry," Bea accuses.

"Grandma, it's none of your business!" Brewer says sharply.

Bea's eyes flash. "Don't you take that tone with me, Ryan Joseph," the elderly woman warns. "Just because _your_ father doesn't care—"

The phone rings, startling all of us and cutting Grandma Bea off.

Grumbling, she snatches the receiver. "Hello?" she barks into the phone. Her expression freezes.

"Why hello, Norman," she says, giving us all a warning look. Panic steals my breath.

_"Put it on speaker!" _Brewer hisses at her.

"Oh, yes, the weather is lovely!" she says cheerfully, before covering the end of the phone. _"I don't know how!" _she snarls back.

_"Give it to me!"_ my rival reaches for the phone.

"No, the desert's been surprisingly calm this year. _Stop treating me like an old lady!" _Bea slaps Brewer's hand away.

_"You _are_ an old lady!"_

"Oh yes, my garden's doing superbly, thank you for asking. _How dare you call me old!"_

_"Grandma Bea you are seventy years old and can't work a microwave! Now give me that phone!" _And with that, Brewer swipes it out of her grasp and punches the speaker button, setting it on the coffee table while we all gather around it.

My father's voice crackles in from the other line, "So, Beatrice, have you been watching the news?"

Bea leans right next to the receiver. "Not much!" she all but shouts into it.

Brewer grabs her by her shoulders and pulls her back in her chair. "It can hear you from here, Grandma," he whispers.

"Yes, well. There's a large uproar going on at Mt. Chimney," my dad goes on. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Bea arches an eyebrow. "Norman, you know I don't get out much," she says, her tone implying this was a conversation they'd had before. I feel a little uncomfortable, unaware my dad was such good friends with Brewer's grandma. Norman didn't really associate with anyone of the Brewer family besides my rival, his younger sister, and his mom.

A sigh crackles over, "Yeah, I know," my dad says, sounding disappointed. "I'm worried about Allie, this sounds exactly like her."

I pull a face, crossing my arms stubbornly. I'm not _that_ much of a walking disaster.

"What exactly _is _happening at Mt. Chimney?" Bea asks, frowning curiously at the phone.

My dad's voice grows harsher, edgier. He's pissed. "Aqua and Magma, who else?" he growls. "I swear, this wouldn't have happened if George was still Leader out in Lavaridge."

"I thought his granddaughter was a fine replacement," Bea says mildly.

"No," Norman's voice is absolute. "Flannery is as overconfident as she is inexperienced. I _told_ Winona she was too young. She can't be objective; her decision making is marred by delusions of grandeur."

"Oh, Norman," Bea chides. "Give the girl a chance."

My dad growls under his breath. "So help me, if she can't work out this fiasco at Mt. Chimney I _will_ request her dismissal from the League. George was a fool to name her as his replacement." He sighs, "Just try to keep an eye out for, Allie, would you? If she's following the League Route, she'll be passing through Route 112 soon."

"Of course, Norman," Bea says, giving me a hard look before hanging up.

Brewer stands, but seems confused when none of us follow suit. "Well?" he demands.

"Well what?" Zac asks, frowning.

"Mt. Chimney's that way," he says curtly, jerking a thumb outside.

"Brewer, it's almost sundown," Lucy protests. "You can't honestly expect us to haul ourselves all the way out to a volcano by then!"

I nod, crossing my arms. "Besides, the Cable Car is being guarded by Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary with his Houndoom from hell," I remind him flippantly. "And that's the only way to Lavaridge."

"Forget about Lavaridge and Mt. Chimney, bro," Zac advises, putting a hand on Brewer's shoulder. "That's just not our business."

Brewer grabs his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "Whatever," he grumbles, and storms off up the stairs.

"Geez, who put a Beedrill in his bonnet?" I mutter, rubbing my arm and glaring after my moody rival.

Lucy nods, frowning, "I thought Allie was the only one who stormed off in a huff when we shot down her crazy plans with logic."

I aim an elbow jab her way, but she gracefully dodges, flashing me a good-natured smile.

"Ryan has always had something to prove," Grandma Bea says tiredly. "I blame his father for that."

I frown, feeling uneasy again. "You keep talking about Brewer's dad..." I say slowly. "We _are_ talking about Riley Brewer, right? The boxer from Saffron?"

Bea's eyes flash, "Mm. My son."

My eyebrows rise at her tone, "You say 'my son' the same way I say 'my brother,'" I note.

My rival's grandmother laughs without humor, "Excellent observation," she congratulates me coldly. "Had our respective relatives ever met, I don't doubt they would have had much in common. They both have an _uncanny_ attraction to the idea of abandoning their families."

_Oh._

"I'm sorry," I mutter, unsure what else to do. "I—I just thought Brewer's dad lost a battle to Sabrina and—"

"And lost his position as Gym Leader in Saffron City," Bea finishes. "This is true, yes, but Ryan was only a child when this happened." She sighs heavily, standing. "However, that is his story to tell, not mine. You're welcome to any of the bedrooms you find," she adds, gesturing to the staircase Brewer had disappeared up earlier before vanishing down the hall.

"Jumping Jigglypuffs..." I mutter, pushing my hair back, eyes wide.

Zac sighs, crossing his arms. "Brewer's going to be pissed," the researcher grumbles. "He never wanted anyone to know about his dad."

"I don't get it," Lucy whispers as we mount the staircase. "His dad _abandoned _him?"

Professor Birch's son deliberates, clearly unwilling to reveal secrets my rival had entrusted him with. I'm so wrapped up in everything all the time, sometimes I forget that Zac is to Brewer what Lucy is to me: an absolute best friend.

"Bea's right. It's his story," Zac finally answers.

I grit my teeth. "We're his friends too!" I hiss.

Zac's tawny eyes blaze behind his glasses, "Don't kid yourself, Allie. Yes, you two grew up together, but at the end of the day you know as well as I do that you're his competitor before you're his friend."

Lucy bites her lip at my expression, "Zac..." she warns anxiously.

_"Competitor?!"_ I repeat, outraged. "For God's sake, Zac, I can compete with the kid and still be his friend!"

"Yeah? Then tell me, Allie. Why hasn't he told you himself, if you two are such great friends?" Zac replies, his voice ice.

Zac had always been good at that. Those killer one-liners. Wordplay had always been his forte; while the rest of us were still falling back on the age-old insult of 'I'm rubber you're glue,' the spectacle-clad boy had been piecing together comebacks that could make con men cry. But he rarely used them on us. So it's no surprise that his comment sends me reeling. I'm torn between reaching for a Pokéball and just hauling off and hitting him, when Lucy pushes me farther down the hall.

"Well done, Zachary," Lucy snaps at him as she herds me towards the other bedroom. "Here I was thinking we were going to set a new record of days passing without Allie losing it, but _no_."

Once we're safely in the bedroom, Lucy releases me, crossing her arms and watching as I drag myself over to one of the beds and flop onto it. My best friend takes a deep breath, "He didn't mean it, Al. You know Zac would never do anything to hurt you, we're all just edgy right now, okay?"

"Do you think Brewer considers me a friend?" I ask quietly, rolling onto my back and staring up at her.

She groans quietly, kneading her forehead, _"Of course_ he does, Allie! We all do. Don't get me wrong, you're not always the easiest person to be friends with, but there's no one we'd rather have at our side: good times or bad. Why else do you think we're here?" She shakes her head, frowning at me. "We all could have high-tailed it out of here a long time ago, Allie. But we didn't, and we're not planning on it."

I'm not convinced, and true to form, she picks up on my unspoken emotions like a Zigzagoon picks up on the trail of a buried item. "Remember back in Slateport when you were in the Trick House and we couldn't find you?" she asks. "Brewer _lost_ it, Al. He was even more panicked than me."

"Is that possible?" I mutter, earning a peeved look from my friend.

"I'm serious, Allie," she insists, "He about decked Zac when he told him to calm down."

I smirk, "That I would have liked to see."

Lucy smiles tiredly, "Trust me," she says. "You two can go at it like a pair of squabbling Wingulls, but when push comes to shove, you know he'd drop everything to help you."

I sigh, staring out the window, which displays a spectacular view of Hoenn's desert at twilight. I decide to ask her something that's been bothering me for a long time.

"How old do you think Steven Stone is?" I ask, turning to glance at her.

She blinks, surprised at my question. "Champion Stone?" she verifies. "Gosh, I don't know...early thirties?"

I pull a face, "He's not that old."

She rolls her eyes, "Early thirties is not _old, _Allie. Tell that to my mother and she'd lay you out in a Jubilife minute."

I shake my head, "He's too attractive to be thirty," I insist.

"Attractive?" Lucy arches an eyebrow. "No way, not Steven Stone. You want _attractive_ you should see Volkner."

I frown, "Who?"

She rolls her crystalline blue eyes, "Um, only the most powerful Leader in Sinnoh! He's an Electric-type Master and Lord have mercy is he hot."

"As long as we're talking Leaders, have you ever seen Morty?" I ask.

Lucy laughs, "Please, that weirdo from Johto?" she shakes her head. "No way, he's a straight _nerd."_

I arch an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought you were into nerds. Your _star-crossed lover_ sure fits the bill."

My friend's cheeks flare crimson, "Zachary Birch and I aren't star-crossed _anything_," she hisses.

"You're as red as a Fire Stone," I inform her mildly, smirking over my shoulder.

"Keep talking, Allison," Lucy growls at me, turning as she pulls her pajamas out of her duffle bag.

"I wonder if Gabby and Ty will ever air that episode," I call, still grinning to myself. "Think I can get a copy on DVD and play it for your kids in twenty years?"

Lucy's answer comes in the pillow hurled at the back of my head.

-0-

"Allie..."

My plaster-encased fist lashes out on its own accord, smacking whoever's just cryptically whispered my name right in the schnoz.

_"Dammit!"_ the person hisses, and I open my eyes to see a pretty brunette standing above my bed, her hands cupped around her nose.

"I'm so sorry!" I whisper, sitting up, holding my cast to my chest. Upon closer inspection, however, I discover the person to be none other than Britta Dysart. "Oh, it's you," I mutter, falling back onto my pillows. "Well, that's okay then."

"Who does that? Breaks someone's nose before they're even fully _awake?" _Britta grumbles, pulling on her nose and then examining her hands. With a huff, she wipes the blood on her jeans, then grabs my arm, giving me a little shake. "Come on, kiddo. Up and at 'em."

"Excuse you," I protest, glaring as she hauls me into a sitting position. "What are you talking about? And how did you even find me?"

"It's a long story, I'll explain on the way," she tosses me a sweatshirt. "Get dressed, seriously. We're on a schedule here."

I shake my head, fumbling in the dark for my Pokéballs. "Like hell we are. You'd better start explaining some things before I..." I trail off, still groping for the capsule systems.

Britta arches an eyebrow. "Looking for these?" she asks, dumping the four Pokéballs in my lap. "Come on, Allie. We've got to move it."

_"Where?"_ I ask, exasperated.

"Fallarbor," she answers tersely, throwing me a pair of jeans that end up hitting me in the face. "Now let's move it."

I turn to Lucy's bed to see what she has to say about this shindig, seeing as my best friend is the lightest sleeper in history, but to my shock the Coordinator is out cold, snoring away happily.

I look back to Britta, "How—?"

"Hypnosis," the brunette answers. "She heard me the second I came in. Don't panic, she'll come around in no time." My gaze falls upon an elegant lilac Pokémon with a crimson dot on the center of her forehead: an Espeon.

Personally, using Pokémon moves on people was the best cause for panic I'd heard in a while, but I grit my teeth, curiosity outweighing concern. I shimmy into the jeans and yank on the sweatshirt, grabbing my backpack and Pokéballs.

"What's in Fallarbor?" I hiss as we edge our way towards the door.

Britta raises a finger to her lips. "In a sec, we have to get out of the house first,"

_Sneakiness _hadn't ever really been a part of my skill set, per se. I'm more of a _barge in and start shouting_ kind of person. This clearly doesn't extend to Britta, who slides through the house on near-silent steps, her Espeon ghosting behind her, me stumbling after them.

Eventually we make it out the front door, which Britta closes carefully behind her. She then sighs with relief, "Great," She reaches for another Pokéball at her belt, simultaneously calling back her Espeon. "Let's go."

"Hold up, you owe me an explanation," I remind her tartly, following the brunette across the trail to the entrance of Route 113. I blink then, realizing it's still dark. "Holy Honchkrow," I mutter, "What time is it?"

"Three in the morning," Britta replies, towing me farther away from the house, "Don't suppose that Taillow of yours has evolved yet, has it?" I shake my head, vaguely wondering how she knew I even owned the gutsy Pokémon. Once we're a satisfactory distance away, she hurls the Pokéball to the ground. "Killian, I choose you!"

A great russet bird flies from the flash, its wings spread wide. It's huge, even bigger than the Day-Care man's Pidgeot, with a beak as long as my arm and seeming as sharp as a blade. It's eyes are fierce and intense, a reddish row of feathers spiking up along its skull like some kind of mohawk, while it's talons gleam bright and deadly in the moonlight. It settles on the ground a little ways away from Britta, lowering its head and splaying its wings in what is quite clearly a display of dominance.

"Nice," I say with faux cheerfulness. "I've always wanted to experience death by crazy, rabid _bird."_

"Killian's not crazy," Britta returns calmly, patting the creature's beak. "This is a Fearow's way of showing respect."

"Oh, wonderful," I mutter. "It's got the word _fear_ in its name. That's almost as good as Houn_doom."_

Britta just chuckles, rolling her eyes. "Come on, you little smartass," she says, "We've got to get going."

_"Why?"_ I ask for the millionth time.

In response, she takes my arm, towing me over to wear Killian the Terrifying Fearow is waiting, pulling me onto his back. "We're not flying, are we?!" I protest, panicking.

Britta twists, glancing around at me, arching an eyebrow. "Yeah, we have some time to make up, that's not a problem is it?"

I say nothing; I just wrap my arms secularly around her waist, muttering half-oaths and nothings under my breath. Britta slaps the side of Killian, who regards her over his shoulder with a fiery look in his eye and lets loose a horrible shriek before spreading his wings wide and taking to the sky.

-0-

As we fly over the fields of Route 113, I can't help but notice the grass is a silvery-gray.

"It's volcanic ash," Britta explains when I manage to spit the question through tightly gritted teeth. "It comes from Mt. Chimney. Useful stuff, if you know how to use it."

We soar over Trainers and Pokémon. It would have been really cool, if I wasn't scared out of my mind. Heights and I had never really been the greatest of friends. We settle safely in front of a Pokécenter moments later, and Britta dismounts gracefully while I slide off and fall flat on my face. With a chuckle, the brunette helps me to my feet, calling back Killian. "Come on," she urges.

She pulls me across the town, eerily empty due to the hour. Fallarbor is a city of farmers, as proved by the numerous plots of land sitting near houses, filled with various vegetables. We arrive at a small shack near the edge of town, and Britta knocks lightly on the door.

"Aren't we going to wake them up?" I hiss, frowning.

Britta smirks, "Don't worry, we're expected."

The door opens, and a woman with mousy brown hair and pale green eyes peers out anxiously. Upon seeing me and Britta, she lets out what sounds like a cross between a shriek and a squeak and slams the door.

"Yeah," I repeat dully, "Expected."

Britta frowns, banging on the door. "Hannah, it's us!" she calls.

"When is Professor Cozmo's birthday?" a voice on the other sides demands shrilly.

Britta groans, rubbing her temples. "Oh, this is ridiculous," she mutters, shaking her head.

"What's going on?" I whisper, thrown.

The brunette waves me quiet, frowning. "God, when's his birthday?" she asks under her breath, scowling at the ground in thought. After a moment, she snaps her fingers, "April 22," she answers, "Earth Day."

The door swings open carefully, and the woman appears again, biting her lip timidly. "I guess it is you," she says softly.

Britta rolls her eyes, brushing past the other woman. "Of course it's me, Hannah," she snaps briskly.

Hannah pouts after her, closing the door behind us as I follow Britta. "You could have been a bad guy," she mutters, dejected. "I saw on _CSI: Sunnyshore _where a guy used a Ditto as a mask."

"Where the hell is Cozmo?" Britta demands, having searched the small house and found no sign of another person.

"Meteor Falls!" Hannah sniffs, crossing her arms. "He's excavating meteorites."

I frown, looking over at Britta. "Who excavates meteors at three in the morning?" I ask.

"Hannah," Britta says slowly. "Who did Cozmo go with? Excavating is a two-man job, sometimes three. He didn't go alone, did he?"

Hannah shakes her head. "No, it was the strangest thing. These men in red hoods came. They were expert excavators! Talk about lucky, right?"

Britta slaps her hands to her face. "You didn't," she groans. _"Tell me_ you didn't do something as bone-headed as send a meteor expert out with _Team Magma."_

Hannah blinks, confused. "Team who?"

Britta swears viciously under her breath, turning for the door. "Come on," she tells me brusquely. "Change of plans."

"Britta! Where are you going?" Hannah cries, chasing after us and watching as we step back onto the empty streets of Fallarbor.

"To rescue your idiot boss!" Britta returns, leading the way out of the town. "Can you believe it?" she grumbles as Hannah vanishes back inside the house. "Enough degrees to put Professor Birch to shame and she's about as bright as a fence post at times." The brunette shakes her head, tugging up the hood of her jacket as a light rain begins to fall. "Come on, the Falls are just up ahead."

"Britta," I say as we begin our trek. "I don't get it. Like, who _are_ you?"

She doesn't look at me. "Who do you think I am?"

I shake my head, snorting. "Nope, no way. It is three in the morning. Talk straight or don't talk at all. I don't deal with cryptic crap until I can see the freaking _sun_ at least." I gesture to the wide expanse of twilight that still stretches above our heads.

Britta snickers, glancing over at me. "Fair enough. I'm a Trainer, same as you. See?" She rummages around in her pocket, before coming up with a flat plastic card which she hands to me.

The name _Britta Rose Dysart_ is clearly printed at the top, and the right corner sports a photo of the pretty brunette. I notice with a jolt she's got all eight badges.

"Yeah, same as me," I mutter, giving her back her card. "Except, you know, _not."_

"Give it time," Britta replies, stowing her card back in her back pocket. "I'm twenty-one, Allie. I've been around the block a time or two. Don't think anyone just walks out and starts winning Gym battles willy-nilly."

I've half a mind to inform her of a certain raven-haired boy who does _just_ that, but we've already reached the entrance of Meteor Falls. "Okay, wait out here," she instructs, as she edges to the mouth of the cave.

I laugh humorlessly, tailing her. "Yeah, good one," I return dryly.

She scowls, "I'm serious, Allie. Magma's—"

"Dangerous. Power hungry. Crazy. Yeah, I think I figured that out a while ago," I cut her off, brushing past her into the cave. "Believe it or not, I _am_ capable of telling the difference between a crime syndicate and peace activists!"

Meteor Falls, as I'm sure you might have guessed, has a ton of meteorites. Why this is the case, I have no idea. That's Zac's area. All I know is that meteorites are seriously valuable, and excavating them is an incredibly delicate process. What Magma wanted with a hunk of extraterrestrial rock, I wasn't sure either. I just knew that if that's what they wanted, that's exactly what they _weren't_ going to get.

Blubbering and crying and generally really pathetic sounds can be heard from deeper in the cave. "Cozmo," Britta mutters, her eyes narrowing. "Come on."

I get a strange sense of déjà vu as we venture deeper into the cave. This is just like Petalburg and the Devon worker. I resolve to someday gather up Hoenn's big-shots and tell them to stop giving invaluable stuff to people who are incapable of defending themselves. What possessed Devon Corp to give those _priceless_ goods to a worker who wasn't even a _Trainer_ when a freaking Gym Leader is literally two steps away from your company is beyond me.

We finally make it to the place where the Professor is, and I am deeply unnerved to see him crying his eyes out. "Yeah, you can handle this one," I mutter to Britta, taking a step back. But my companion is examining tracks in the sandy floor of the cavern, not listening. With a sigh, I jump the small ledge down to a lower part of the cave, where the Professor sits in his little pool of tears.

"Cozmo?" I give his arm a tentative shake. "Hey, Professor. It's me, Allie Harper."

"They took it!" he howls, and I recoil sharply. "My very own meteorite, gone!"

"So I heard," I say carefully. "Now let's just get you out of here—"

"My entire life's work!" he moans, flinging himself into what I guess he considered a hug but I would classify as assault. "It's all for naught!"

"Okay, well _you_ were the one who trusted Team Magma," I tell him curtly, removing his arms from my shoulders. "No one to blame but yourself, bucko."

"Yeah," Britta mutters, hopping down beside me and helping the Professor to his feet. "You really suck at comforting."

"Hey, I'm willing to save anyone from danger, but compassion's not included." I tell her, following the pair as we make our way back to the cave's entrance.

Britta tosses me a look over her shoulder. "Let me guess, sarcasm's a guarantee?"

I grumble under my breath as exit Meteor Falls. Everyone's a comedian.

* * *

**Hello, lovely readers.**

**This weekend was super stressful: I had to attend my great-aunt's 90****th**** birthday with meant a five hour car ride which meant no Internet or electrical outlet which meant my lap top died like six times and I'm updating at an ungodly hour for the second weekend in a row.**

**_But hey_**** we're learning some more about Brewer and Britta's back in the story. I had my friend read through this chapter just for grins and she told me she hated Fearows. I never liked them either, per se but for some reason when I thought ****_Bird Pokémon for Britta_**** my mind instantly said ****_Fearow._**

**I'm getting some angry PMs about my lack of Generation V (Black/White) Pokémon in my fic and the truth is, I haven't actually played Generation V yet. I know I'm just asking for trouble by saying this but it didn't actually look that good. I know I'll end up buying it eventually and I'm sure it'll be just fine but for crying out loud the Water starter looks like a sad teddy bear with flippers and oh my Lord if Giovanni ever saw the crime syndicate in that region he'd probably cry. And like, the eighth Gym Leader is nine years old and another Leader is like a cowboy mobster and you guys I just can't. ****_Someday_**** I'll end up playing it, but don't be holding your breath for any Gen V Pokémon because I'm just not familiar enough with them.**

**Other than that, Happy Sunday and I'll see you on Wednesday.**

**Leave a review, if that's your thing or you'd like to leave me a list of why Gen V is totally awesome and I'm dumb for not having played it.**

**Cheers,**

**Duchess**

**P.S. Congrats to anyone high schoolers who took the ACT and wanted to cry afterwards like me!**


	17. Chapter 17

Fallarbor is starting to come to life as we approach it.

Before we've even crossed over the city line, a man jogs out to meet us. He's tall, with shaggy dark hair and glasses, dirt covering every inch of his face.

"Britt," he says tersely, falling into step beside us as we continue to lug Cozmo back to his house. "Where's the meteorite?"

"Gone," Britta replies curtly. "Magma made off with it."

The man's beside himself. _"Magma?!"_ he protests, his eyes going wide. "Britta, that's a serious problem!"

"Really? Never would have guessed," my companion grumbles back, shouldering open the door to Cozmo's and hauling the Prof inside.

Back inside, Cozmo's tiny house is just as we left it. Hannah is beside herself with joy when we come in towing a still-distraught Cozmo with us. The man with the glasses closes the door behind him.

"Britta. Explain." He demands, crossing his arms.

The brunette rolls her eyes. "What is there to explain? It's not like we just watched them waltz out with the meteorite! They were gone before we got to the Falls. We never had a chance."

I raise my hand as though in class. "Yeah, quick question. What the hell is going on?"

The man glances up at me, arching an eyebrow. "Aden's sister?" he asks. I pull a face, not pleased with that particular title.

"I'm Allie Harper," I tell him coolly. "And who are you?"

"This is Dr. Dan Katz," Britta explains, "But you probably know him as the Ruin Maniac."

My eyes go wide. _"You!"_ I cry, pointing. "You're the one who found the fossil and landed me in this mess in the first place!"

Dan is unimpressed by my accusation. "From what I've heard about you, little Miss Harper, it doesn't sound like you need much help getting into messes. You seem to have mastered that technique all on your own."

I swear under my breath, gritting my teeth. When did everyone's personality get swapped for Ryan Brewer's?

"Why do you need a meteorite?" I ask sharply. I hold up a hand, stopping Britta as she opens her mouth to answer. "Pause. Better question. Why did you drag _me_ out here?"

Dan arches an eyebrow. "You don't want to hear the second half of the legend?"

I start, my eyes widening. "Of course I do!" I cry earnestly.

"Great," he replies harshly. "Go to Mt. Chimney and get that meteorite back from Magma."

"Are you crazy?" I protest. "What's the meteorite got to do with the legend?"

"A few things," Britta says, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. "For starters, Magma can't have the meteorite. Period. They need to lose it pronto, legend or no legend. Secondly, we don't have that legend memorized, kiddo. Yeah, Dan over here found it, but he didn't really have time to sit down and translate it."

I throw Dr. Dan a snarky look. "Why'd you hand the legend over to Devon Corporation?" I snap.

He rolls his eyes. "I didn't realize it was the second half of the Eon Duo Legend when I first uncovered it!" he defends himself. "All I saw was a hunk of rock with braille."

I turn my back on him, "Whatever. It doesn't even matter, the Cable Car's being guarded."

"Not anymore," Britta corrects. "He's gone now, trust me."

I frown skeptically, but continue. "So step one, go get the meteorite back from Magma. Then what?"

Dan snorts. "You make it sound like a walk it the park," he mutters.

I toss another dirty look over my shoulder. "I don't see you volunteering, buster," I growl at him.

He rolls his eyes, shrugging away from the wall to check on Cozmo. "And you wonder why I called you Aden's sister," he mutters under his breath.

Britta sighs, recapturing my attention. "Once you have the meteorite, you're golden. It's a very valuable bargaining chip, Al. You have that, and you can essentially ask them for anything."

"I can get them to tell me everything. Like, _everything_ everything," I whisper, my eyes wide.

Britta nods, grinning. "You got it."

"This is perfect!" I cry.

The brunette catches my arm before I can bolt. "Hold up, Allie," she pulls me back. "Be careful. I know you can handle yourself, but things can get hot up at the volcano. You spend too much time up there, and soon up is down and right is wrong. Keep your wits about you, and be quick about it. Understand?"

I nod, then turn to leave.

-0-

Britta watches as the door closes behind Allie, then sighs.

"Aden's gonna kill me," she mutters, biting her lip.

"You _did_ basically just send his sister after a deadly gang to the top of an active volcano," Dan says dryly, sauntering back over, hands in his pockets.

"Got a better idea?" she snaps, rounding on him. "Besides, it's not like any of us can go."

Dan's face is hard. "How long until you think she figures it out?"

Britta snorts, running a hand through her hair. "Figures out what? That she's being played, or she's the more involved in the legend than she thinks?"

The Ruin Maniac rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. "Either or. Think she'll catch on?"

Britta shrugs. "Allie believes what she wants, and _only_ what she wants. She's convinced she's in control of her own destiny, and the only thing that will change that will be the Eon Tablet in her own hands."

"She'll find out," Dan says softly. "About you and Aden and the Legends. Everything. You can't keep her in the dark forever. And when she finds out, she's going to be royally pissed."

Britta sighs heavily, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah well, it's not like we're overflowing with options, now are we?"

It's silent for a moment. "You think she's the Chosen One?" he asks quietly.

Britta laughs humorlessly. "Well Aden has already demonstrated what happens when a Harper tries to interfere with ancient, legendary power and he nearly destroyed Sootopolis. So to answer your question, no. I hope to any deity that happens to be listening she isn't the Chosen One, because if she is we're screwed."

Dan arches an eyebrow. "I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate that," he comments.

Britta gives him a severe look, "Tell him I said that and you're a dead man, Katz" she warns.

-0-

As previously stated, _sneakiness_ isn't my thing.

I miraculously make it into the house without making the door creek, and am almost to the stairs when a voice behind me says: "It's six o' clock on the morning, Allison, where have you been?"

I whirl to face Aunt Bea, who is rocking contently in her chair, knitting. Or crocheting? Some old lady activity.

"Grandma Bea!" I say, stunned. "Erm, you're, um, up early."

"Where have you been?" she repeats with a touch more steel, arching an eyebrow.

As per usual, I fold under the disapproval of an elderly person. "I was in Fallarbor," I grumble.

"Doing what?" she asks airily, her knitting needles flashing in the faint light, her skilled fingers expertly manipulating the fabric.

"Chasing after bad guys," I mutter, glaring at the ground.

Bea gives a little _tut-tut_. "You and Ryan, you're two of a kind. Why Norman ever let you leave Petalburg together is beyond me." She sighs, _"Go_, Allie. No one else is awake yet. If you can manage to get back to your room without bringing the house down around our ears it'll be a damned miracle but go on," she makes a shooing gesture with her needle.

I make to mount the staircase, but pause, glancing back at her. "Grandma Bea," I say quietly. "Um, about Brewer's dad—"

"That's his story to tell," she interjects sharply.

"I know, I know,' I say quickly. "I just...I'm sorry."

Bea stops rocking.

"I know what it's like. To lose a relative, I mean," I go on. "Of course I don't know anything about kids, but I know how upset my mom and dad were when Aden left. I know how upset _I_ was too. You feel betrayed, right? Like—like you weren't good enough for them or something. I guess I'm just trying to say I know how it feels, and it feels like complete crap so...I'm sorry."

I turn to leave, but Bea calls my name; "Allison," I glance back.

She has a peculiar expression on her face. "Never think you aren't good enough for anyone," she says softly, then goes back to knitting. I take one step and she calls, "That includes my grandson. You two walk a dangerous line, Allison. Very thin, very delicate. The line between friends and enemies is hard to see, even from an outsider's point of view. Be careful with a relationship like that, Allison. Something like that can take moments to ruin and may never be fixed. That is all," and she goes back to knitting.

I frown, biting my lip. "How bad was it?" I ask quietly. "Brewer, I mean. When his dad left. How bad was he?"

Bea's eyes blaze. "Let's just say there's a very specific reason he's so determined to be the best; and it isn't for glory's sake," she replies.

And with that super cheerful response, I scramble up the stairs.

-0-

"I'll tell you what," Lucy says, filling her bowl of cereal with milk. "I slept like a Geodude."

"No kidding?" Zac replies, raising his eyebrows and taking a bite of toast, "You usually never sleep heavily."

_She usually doesn't have the help of an Espeon and Hypnosis, Zac Attack_. "Yeah, kind of crazy," I say easily, flipping pancakes onto my plate.

"Thanks for breakfast, Granny," Brewer says, moping his face with a napkin. Bea just nods, whisking away Brewer's empty plate.

"So where to next?" Lucy asks, glancing around the table.

It's morning, or more accurately, nine AM. Morning to everyone else, but it feels like mid-afternoon to me.

I toy with my fork, eyes on the spinning utensil. "I agree with Brewer," I blurt out. "I think we should go to Mt. Chimney."

Brewer looks up with surprise, as does everyone else.

Zac sighs, "Allie, we've been over this. Like you said, we can't even get to the Cable Car—"

"The Magma guy's gone," I insist, echoing Britta's earlier words. "Trust me."

Lucy and Zac exchange some looks.

"Guys, come on. Do we want to stop Magma or not?" I say, crossing my arms.

"Since when did we become Hoenn's police force?" Lucy asks, arching an eyebrow and taking a bite of her cereal.

I sigh, "Come on, you guys. Who knows what they're getting up to up there! The 'quakes have been going on for two days now. Obviously they're still up there, doing God knows what."

"The League will handle it," Zac says dismissively.

"The _League_ has had forty-eight hours to handle it and hasn't done squat," Brewer cuts in, his voice low and fierce. "I'm with Allie. I say we go."

"I say you're both nuts," Lucy retorts.

Zac gives me a hard look. "This is about our argument yesterday, isn't it?" he asks, frowning.

I frown, yesterday seeming like a hundred years ago thanks to my early-morning escapade. "What argument?" I ask.

But Zac seems convinced he's right, and points his fork at me. "You're just agreeing with Brewer to prove you guys are friends," he says.

I pull a face, blindsided by his hypothesis. "What? _No!_ That's ridiculous! I'm just saying—"

_"Yesterday _you were just saying we shouldn't upon pain of death go to Mt. Chimney," Lucy interrupts. "And to the best of my knowledge, the only thing that's changed in the past twenty-four hours is your little spat with Zac Attack."

"You guys had a fight about me?" Brewer asks, looking uncomfortable and confused.

I slap my hands to my face. "Can we all please just forget about yesterday?" I snap, growing irritated. "Yes, Zac and I had an argument. Whoop-de-freaking-do. Cry a river, build a bridge, get over it. All that jazz. Now is anyone coming with me to Mt. Chimney or am I going solo?"

Lucy grumbles something about having a lunatic for a friend before getting up from the table and vanishing upstairs, reappearing a few minutes later with her stuff. Brewer gives me a weird look before following suit, until I'm just staring at Zac, Lucy and Brewer stepping outside.

"Allie, you're stubborn as a Ponyta at times," he says, frowning. "I don't get it. What changed your mind, if it wasn't our argument?"

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'sleep on it?'" I ask. "People are capable of changing their minds overnight, Zachary."

He's not convinced. "Not you, Allie," he says.

I don't lie. I don't, really. I know for a fact how much I hate being lied to, but admitting to running off with Britta at three AM was a conversation I was so not in the mood for. I sigh. Time to play dirty.

"What's the matter, Zachary?" I ask him coolly. "Scared of a little confrontation?"

The researcher's eyes flash. "Are you calling me a coward?" he asks, his voice low and harsh.

"Are you chickening out of Mt. Chimney?" I counter, raising an eyebrow.

And here it is, the reason Zac Birch is more like me than anyone else: _challenges._

We can't say no to them. Either of us. Lucy isn't included because she's the only one with enough sense to know when something is or is not within her capabilities and Brewer just charges into everything no matter what. Zac and I, however, walk a strange, thin line. We hate losing or being wrong, and _can_ say no to things, but we can be goaded into just about anything. Zac's better at resisting them than me, but if you press him in just the right way, he's gone.

"Or maybe," I go on in that same, lofty tone, "You're afraid you just don't know what's going to happen. You're scared that the high and mighty Zac Birch is going to be wrong."

Zac stands. While not as tall as Brewer, he's got a handful of inches over me, and he glares down at me balefully. "What in the world are you playing at Allison?" he growls at me.

I stare up at him, pleading. "Trust me, please." I request quietly. "You're my friend, Zac. Just for once please stop analyzing the data and have some faith that I'm not going to do something incredibly stupid. As a _friend. _I'm asking for your help. You know I wouldn't last a day without you. I'd eat some poisonous berry or something."

His lips twitch, but his tawny eyes don't waver. "I do facts, Allie," he murmurs, frowning. "Not faith."

I bite my lip, "Even for me? For old time's sake?"

He takes a deep breath, looking away. I play my trump card.

"Whatever, Zac. It's your choice," I turn my back on him, pulling on my backpack. "Guess that means Luce will just have to take care of any fighting _you_ would have done..."

A small smile curves my lips as I hear the researcher start sharply, and I toss a cursory glance over my shoulder to see him giving me a dark look. "You play dirty, Allison," he accuses.

I flash him a bright smile, "Never said I didn't." I smirk as he gathers his tools. "I take it you don't want me to share that little tidbit with Lucy?" I ask lightly, arching an eyebrow.

He gives me another dark look before sweeping past me outdoors.

-0-

The trip back to the Cable Car is short and uneventful, and it's not long before we're staring it in the face.

"This _was_ your idea," Lucy reminds me, frowning.

"It was the best idea, of course it was mine," I counter.

"How'd you know the Magma guy would be gone?" Zac wants to know.

"Lucky guess," I reply easily.

Zac snorts. "Nice try, except you don't _get_ lucky," he retorts.

"Stalling?" Brewer asks, a smile in his voice, nudging me.

"Absolutely," I reply, adjusting my backpack strap.

If I haven't made this clear enough before, allow me to inform you that I hate heights. I _hate_ them. There's no if, ands, or buts about it. And as far as I was concerned, dangling from a paper-thin wire ninety feet in the air wasn't the best thing for a phobia like that.

"Where's that faith, Allie?" Zac murmurs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving me a quick squeeze.

I swallow, leaning into him. "Somewhere back with my stomach," I mutter. The researcher snorts and pulls me in to the office, Lucy and Brewer following.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a woman says, rising up from behind a desk as we walk in. "The Cable Car isn't open for business." I grit my teeth as the second figure turns and I see my old buddy Drake the Dragon Tamer.

"Allison Harper," he greets me in the voice of someone who's just discovered something particularly nasty clinging to the bottom of their boot. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"We need a ride," I say fiercely.

"Please," Lucy adds hastily.

Drake's cruel eyes travel over the four of us, and he nods. "Certainly. In about three hours."

My mouth tumbles open. "Three hours?" I protest. "No way! That's too long!"

The Dragon Master arches an eyebrow. "What's the rush, Miss Harper? There's some nasty business going on up at Mt. Chimney. We wouldn't want a poor little girl like you getting mixed up in something like that, now would we?" His eyes flash. "I don't think Norman would appreciate that very much."

I snap my hands into fists. "You can keep your opinion on my family out of this, thanks," I respond coolly. "And you don't have any authority to tell me what I can and cannot do."

His eyes widen. "Don't I?"

"Allie, he's Elite Four," Brewer mutters to me. "He's got more authority than every Hoenn Leader combined. I wouldn't go for that angle."

I take a step forward, raising my eyebrows. "Go on, then. What are you going to do?"

Drake's eyes narrow to slits. "I wouldn't, Miss Harper," he warns.

Lucy grabs my arm. "Allison Harper, you're my best friend, okay? I'll fight beside you no matter the circumstances but please, _please_ don't go picking fights with anyone who has the word _dragon _in their title."

I ignore her. "Go on, attack me," I shoot at Drake, glowering at him. "I dare you."

"Allie..." Brewer groans, tensing beside me.

This was a game I'd played with Norman all the time. And it was one I usually won. Drake, nightmarish as he may be, wasn't going to lay a finger on me. Not if he wanted to be in the ICU for the next month, courtesy of Ryan Brewer, whose fist-fighting prowess wasn't about to be matched. He wouldn't touch me, or send his Pokémon on me. It was a matter of pushing the line, testing the waters. See how far you can go, and what they'll do when you cross a certain point.

Because when you get right down to it, authority only matters if the people you're exercising it on respect you. You can have the most impressive title in the world, but if you're a jerk, I'm not going to listen to you. If it was, say, Brawly standing here telling me I couldn't go up in the Cable Car, I'd be more inclined to listen to him because as dumb as he can be, he's a standup guy.

Drake on the other hand, relied on fear to get what he wanted. And I wasn't digging it.

"You think you can boss me around just because you're Elite Four," I snap.

The Dragon Tamer smiles cruelly. "Don't tempt me, Miss Harper," he says oily, his hand drifting towards a Pokéball at his belt. "I've already seen a Harper make a mess of things and I'm not about to do it again."

His words catch me off guard, and I hesitate. "Wait. What Harper?" I ask, thrown.

Drake sneers. "Your idiot brother, or have you somehow not heard about his infamous fiasco at Sootopoils three years ago!"

My eyes flip wide, then narrow to slits. "What fiasco?!" I demand.

"Your brother thought he was the Chosen One," Drake says coldly.

"Wait, wait, wait. Time out," Lucy steps forward, her hands arranged in the shape of a T. "The Chosen One from the legend? The one who would calm Kyorge and Groudon? _That_ Chosen One?"

"How many Chosen Ones do you know about?" Brewer grumbles to her.

Drake appraises her. "Yes," he replies. "The very one."

"And why would Aden think he was the Chosen One?" Zac asks carefully.

The Dragon Tamer glowers. "That's not really your concern, is it Mr. Birch?"

"The Legend refers to a 'child of balance,'" an amiable voice says from behind us.

We all turn, and I half expect to see Britta, but instead a young woman walks in, even younger than Britta, with thick reddish hair swept up in a ponytail.

"Flannery," Drake growls in the same tone of voice my dad uses when his Pokémon are loafing around or misbehaving.

The girl flashes a grin, hands on her hips. "Heya Master Drake," she greets him.

He arches an eyebrow. "You're pretty calm, considering your town's under attack," he notes harshly.

Flannery's eyes flare. "Actually, I was just going up to Mt. Chimney, Master Drake," she tells him, her voice ending in a snap. "So if you wouldn't mind stepping aside..."

Drake nods. "Of course, _Leader_ Flannery," he says, mocking her title.

She flings him a dark look before climbing forward, then glancing back at us. "You coming or what?"

* * *

**Hello again, dear readers.**

**I have a few excuses for why I was so delayed, one being I dug out my old FireRed game and got sucked in so much by the time I sat down to finish this chapter I was like "gee that's funny where's Pallet Town" which is the wrong thing to be saying when you're writing a Hoenn FanFic. The main reason though is the fact that I actually got picked to write a column for my city's newspaper. Not really that big of deal in the grand scheme of things, but it looks good on a résumé and was cool enough to steal away most of my time. But now all my columns are submitted and my Psyducks are in a row so it's back to the story **

**I'm also managing my high school's baseball team because I'm one of those weird kids who is an avid video gamer but then is also really into sports. So that may throw my uploading off a bit. We'll see how it goes, shall we?**

**As far as the story's concerned, the purpose of this chapter is to set the stage for the next chapter: the scene on Mt. Chimney. Now when I originally got the idea for this fic, Mt. Chimney was the very first scene I envisioned. I'm praying it turns out as good as I hope.**

**As always, thanks for your support, even when I get weird with my updates. In all seriousness I'm blown away that people even take the time to read this and am flattered by the praise I get (seriously you guys if my head gets much bigger I'll become top-heavy and fall over)**

**So pardon my tardiness, but we should be back on track. Just in time for the cast to lose their minds!**

**Thanks as always,**

**-Duchess**

**P.S. for all of you curious about Brewer's backstory, the next chapter's going to be a treat for you. **


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